The Light in Dark Places
by IsabelParkerStevens
Summary: In a world of magic, muggles, old legends and new tales. Of dragons and unicorns, centaurs and dementors. In a world where a baby managed to end a reign of terror by the darkest wizard of the age...is a girl just trying to get through her school education.
1. Chapter 1 - School Shopping

Chapter 1 – School Shopping.

"Ow." I protested under my breath, flinching as I was pricked once again with a small dressmaking needle that seemed to be unnecessarily sharp. The witch who haphazardly flourished her wand above my head and down around my shoulders was old, very old. Thin strands of ashen hair were twisted into a low bun at the base of her head and her hands possessed a tremor so pronounced, I suspected it had been there her whole life. She frowned with concentration as she worked, the expression only emphasising the lines already present on her aged skin.

"We should be done after this, darling." My Mother remarked from where she was delicately perched on a dusty mauve pouf. She had kept her list close at hand all day, not letting us veer from its contents in the slightest. Even as I stood on the elevated platform in front of three long mirrors, she was still ticking items off and scribbling notes down with her delicate white travel quill.

"But couldn't we just…?" She looked up from the parchment in her hand and my question was curtailed, without the need for an answer to be voiced.

"First years are not allowed their own brooms, Nina." She repeated and I fought the urge to cross my arms and pout. It was the same answer I'd received all day. But I'd already seen the Nimbus 2000 in the window of _Quality Quidditch Supplies. _Other wizards and witches of my own age and older with their noses pressed against the glass.

"I just want to look."

"No, Nina. Because if you look you will beg your father until he buys it for you. The answer is no. I'm not going to repeat myself again, young lady" I sighed in defeat as my reverie of rule breaking at Hogwarts before I'd even arrived were whisked away.

My attention was suddenly diverted from my own appearance in the aged mirrors, to the pedestal next to me as the bell on the front door jingled – announcing the arrival of another customer to _Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions. _A boy stepped up next to me, white-blond hair slicked back, drawing emphasis to his sharp and pronounced features. He briefly examined his own reflection in the mirror before turning to me, I offered a small smile – his eyes flickering down to my mouth before his eyebrows furrowed and he turned away, his chin jutting into the air as a woman joined his side. Her hair was almost an identical shade of blonde.

"That's you done then, dear." The old witch sighed before charming the pins out of my arsenic robes and returning me back to the tartan skirt and black t-shirt I'd been wearing. I shrugged my denim jacket over my shoulders and winced as my mother pulled my hair from underneath the collar. The blonde woman offered a small smile in my mother's direction and a curt nod was returned but I paid little attention to either of them as I watched the old witch fold my robes and place them in a paper bag before tying it with string. Plain from head to foot, they were yet to be adorned with the house I would find myself in once I arrived at Hogwarts. My mother folded her list back into her purse, paid the witch for her services and ushered me from the shop and out into the heaving streets of Diagon Alley.

"Now we just need to find your brother and father," she commented as we gingerly stepped among the excited crowds. There was never a dull atmosphere in Diagon Alley, it was always a happy and high-spirited place to be and that feeling was often contagious. I'd wished that we'd been able to go into every single shop and just wander round as if we had all the time in the world but of course, with my mother attending, we had been put on a very strict time schedule. I hadn't been able to go into Madam Augusta's Astronomy Supplies even though I had practically begged to. It was a deep navy shop, decorated with silver stars that moved across the walls and sometimes there were even meteor showers. I had pressed my nose against the glass to look inside and at the top of the building there was a huge telescope that people were using to see the planets, most presumably in preparation for our astronomy lessons at school. Lessons I was particularly looking forward to.

Eventually, we found my Father stationed outside the Apothecary. He was piling small jars and phials into the arms of my brother who rolled his eyes at me through the new glasses he'd had to start wearing over the summer and I stifled a giggle. Alec and I were close as siblings. We fought enough and often times our parents had to act as mediators to our conflicts, but we shared a passion for much of the same subjects, meaning we always found a way to reconcile with one another. I did miss him terribly when he went away to school but this year, I would be going with him.

"Did you get everything?" My mother questioned instantly upon seeing them. My father nodded in response, but it was clear she didn't believe him. To say my mother was a bit uptight when it came to shopping would be a mild understatement.

"Are you sure? The books?" He nodded and sighed with a small smile on his face. He often said that our mother's meticulousness was something that he loved about her.

"Alec picked them up whilst I got her cauldron." My mother retrieved the list once again from her purse and ran a manicured nail down the parchment for what must have been the hundredth time that day.

"Ok, I got her gloves, hat, cloak and robes." She nodded lightly as she listed off each item, double checking that we still had each item in our possession. As she listed them off, my father was placing each of the items into her handbag with its extendable charm that concealed the true size of it. Despite being surrounded by magic my whole life, I loved watching the items drop into her bag and vanish into unknown depths. Once Alec's arms were clear he pulled a paper bag of sweets from his pocket, tossing me a stick of Droobles Best Blowing Gum which I happily popped in my mouth before attempting to blow the biggest bubble I could muster.

"…I also got her telescope, crystal phials, and the scales." I heard my parents mutter between themselves. "Is that everything?"

"No! My wand!" I cried as the bubblegum popped and I picked it from my cheeks as my parents watched me disapprovingly but it didn't matter, I was suddenly brimming with excitement as I spotted the concave windows of _Ollivander's_ shop front. I had taken off and entered the shop before my parents had the chance to catch up.

_Ollivander's _was dusty inside, the smell of old wooden boxes and forgotten books got right into my nose and forced three sneezes out as my parents and brother followed inside. There were wand boxes piled floor to ceiling, varying in colours but every single one was the same size. Dust clung to some of them and cobwebs to others. The old man at the counter had looked up the moment I'd stepped in and waited patiently for my eyes to locate him amongst the wands.

"Ah, Miss Rosier? Is it that time already?" He smiled softly, placing his quill in its stand before he folded his hands together. I nodded as he looked to my parents, "Finally off to Hogwarts alongside your brother." I smiled in excitement as he reminded me of the exciting news.

"Remind me, Mrs Rosier. Which wand chose you?" My mother pulled her wand from her purse, smiling proudly as its delicate features and white colour. She handed it to Mr Ollivander, and he turned it over in his grasp.

"Ah yes, Aspen wood. Phoenix feather if I remember correctly?" My mother nodded, accepting it back into her own delicate grip.

"It has served me well." She remarked as Ollivander repeated the action with my father.

"Beech." Ollivander smiled as he ran his old fingers along the groves of my father's wand. "For those wise beyond their years and full of understanding." My father cleared his throat and I couldn't help but notice him tilt his chin upward slightly, earning a subtle snigger from Alec and an admiring smile from my mother. Ollivander handed the wand back and leant over his desk to me, a fabric tape measure came sliding over the counter top and began to measure my arm, wrist, each of my fingers and even around my head. I kept my eyes trained on Ollivander however as he examined my face closely before retreating to the back of his shop, returning moments later with a purple box in hand. He removed a wand of English Oak and my hand clasped around it. It felt cold to the touch, but I waved it nonetheless, the magic felt staggered as it moved down my arm and into the wand and I wasn't sure what I had wanted it to do but I was sure that it hadn't happened. The actions that the wand had performed were quickly confirmed however as we heard a scream from down the street outside. Alec poked his head out the door and then quickly closed it, his face red with silent laughter. My mother swatted him with her list but he couldn't stop himself. I quickly placed the wand back on the desk with a shaking hand and apologetic expression. Ollivander sighed with a smile, muttered that it happened all the time and returned to the back of the shop, returning the second time with two boxes, one grey and one green. He opened the grey one first and handed it down to me.

"Yew." He said simply and I waved it again. My mother practically jumped into my father's arms as two floorboards ripped themselves up from under her feet and combusted into thousands of tiny splinters.

"No, I didn't think so, but I like to be sure." He waved his hand and I watched with amazement as the floorboards put themselves back together and fitted themselves back amongst the others on the floor. My mother did not step back onto them, instead staying close to my father's side.

"Here, try this one." Ollivander took the wand away and handed me the third one. As soon as I touched it, warmth spread throughout my hand and arm and I felt instantly attached to the intricately carved wand in my hand. I waved it slightly and several silver wisps emerged from the end and floated around the air, dancing to their own silent song. I watched in awe as they rose to the ceiling and disappeared.

"Yes. Yes, I think that is the one for you, young Miss." I reluctantly handed the wand back as he wrapped it in its green box and tied it shut with black ribbon. "A questing wand, it is always seeking out the next great adventure. It will become dangerous if left to the mundane activities that occupy so many of our lives."

"Sounds like you're destined for Gryffindor in that case, panda." Alec smirked. I grimaced and looked up at my Farther in silent protest as the box was handed back to me and I clutched it to my chest. As close as our family was, my Dad and I were partners in crime. He was my best friend.

"Leave your sister alone. If I remember correctly, weren't you almost a hat stall? Didn't it almost put you in Hufflepuff? We all know how much yellow doesn't suit you." A rose tint appeared on my brother's cheeks as my mother hushed them both, paid Mr Ollivander and we left the shop. The streets had begun to empty slightly but they were still busy.

"Come on. Everyone will start leaving soon and the Floo Network will soon be backed up." My Father said. "I want to go home and have some well-deserved dinner." He then turned to me;

"You also need to start packing. In six days, you are off to Hogwarts."


	2. Chapter 2 - The Hogwarts Express

Chapter 2 – The Hogwarts Express.

There it was right in front of me, the gleaming red steam train that for the past three years, I had come within touching distance of – only to be whisked back home once my brother had set off for school. But now it was my turn, I would finally be accompanying Alec to Hogwarts and would be schooled there for the next seven years of my life. Despite receiving the letter a number of weeks ago and my ticket for the train soon after, the excitement had hardly dissipated at all and I was practically vibrating with anticipation. The breakfast that we had eaten in the Leaky Cauldron was starting to swirl around my stomach making me feel slightly queasy but I'd be damned if my first impression of my school mates was going to be me vomiting blueberry pancakes all over the platform.

I was suddenly roused from my daydreams and wave of nausea when two firm hands pressed down and squeezed my shoulders. Tipping my head back, I looked up at the smiling face of my father. His hair neatly combed back and his glasses high on his nose.

"Did you find her?" I heard my mother's voice call over the noise of the building train engine and the extensive crowds occupying the platform. I peered behind my father and spotted her hurrying over to us, my satchel draped over her shoulder over the top of her own handbag. She had stopped briefly to hastily hand my trunk over to the steward and I had taken the opportunity to slip away from the slightly suffocating grip that was my family. It was nothing personal, but I had been ready to attend Hogwarts from the moment Alec had received his letter and now it was so close, I just wanted to get there.

"Nina Aurelia Rosier. Do not run away like that again. What if you had gotten on the train and we hadn't of said goodbye?" My mother questioned as she draped my bag over my shoulder and began fussing over my plan black uniform. Alec had been in stitches when they'd forced me to change into my robes at home, stating that it wasn't going to do me any favours in finding friends but neither of my parents had wanted to listen. All I got was a rhetoric of;

'_You will not be getting undressed in a train carriage of other children you've ever met' _

My father's ideas were even worse, he was somehow convinced there were a line of boys waiting on the train to woo me the moment I stepped on board. My protests had gone unheard and I'd had to shrug off the amused glances of other children from the moment we'd stepped onto the platform. As I adjusted the strap of my satchel, a low growl could be head from inside. I patted the leather exterior, soothing the contents.

Before we had left home that morning, I had examined myself in my bedroom mirror, wondering how I would look in the blue and bronze of Ravenclaw, the same house of my father and Alec. I had also pondered on how I would look as a Slytherin. The entirety of my mother's family belonged to the house, and everyone's on my father's side, up until him. But I knew it had a bad reputation. My mother had made sure to explain that to great lengths to me as a young child, yet it hadn't put me off. Yes, I was smart and witty, but my mother and I were so similar that I just couldn't help but feel like Slytherin was where I belonged. I was plenty ambitious and extremely proud and whilst I knew it didn't matter greatly, my name was scratched into an ancient piece of parchment. Rosier was one of the oldest and purest families in the wizarding world and I knew that the majority of those families, by default, resided in Slytherin. I suppose a part of me wanted to be respected and my name assured that, at least among the others whose names were among my own on that scrappy old piece of parchment.

"Mum, we've said goodbye at least five times already." I stressed as she tucked my hair behind my ears. She sighed and pressed a firm kiss to my forehead.

"I know, I know. But you're my baby, my little girl. You're not supposed to be ready to leave home. You're supposed to be scared and cry to stay." I glanced up at my father who smiled sympathetically and squeezed my mother's shoulder in a comforting manner.

"I could pretend? If it made you feel better?" I shrugged before she laughed slightly and pulled me into a tight hug. I found myself clutching onto the cotton fabric of her coat, breathing in the scent of her perfume and suddenly feeling tears well in my eyes. I would undeniably miss my family a great deal, but I would at least have the company of my brother to comfort me whilst I was gone.

"No darling, of course not. You don't need to pretend. Hogwarts doesn't know what it has got coming."

"She's _your _daughter with _my _last name. They know exactly what is coming." My father joked, feigning pain as my mother tutted and swatted him on the lapels of his coat.

"A Quidditch prodigy is what's coming." My brother Alec interjected, having re-joined us after seeking out his group of Ravenclaw housemates. He slipped his arm over my shoulder and roughed up my hair, laughing at my futile attempts to fight back.

"First years can't try out for the team, you know that." I objected with dismay, scowling as I tried to return my hair to its neatly brushed state as it had been before.

"True. But you will kick butt in your flying lessons and by the time second year starts, you won't need to try out. They'll be begging you to join the team and if I get the Captaincy for Ravenclaw this year…" He winked at our father confidently, "…then I guarantee you a spot."

"What if I'm not in Ravenclaw?" I muttered, unsure of myself and the kind of person Hogwarts would shape me to be. If I was sorted into Slytherin, a label came with that, a label my family name was already associated with. Pure-blood supremacy, family members that no one spoke of, and old stories from the first war that still marred my name when we weren't in the company of similarly labelled families.

My father sighed, took of his glasses and knelt down in front of me;

"Now, I want you to listen to me, Nina. Do you think your mother, brother and I love you?" I nodded with furrowed eyebrows, my father's wisdom was often long-winded and riddle-like, sometimes it was so long winded you would often forget what point he was trying to make by the time he got there.

"Do you think that the colours of your uniform will change that, in any way? Is it going to change you? Will being a Ravenclaw make your head swell? Will being in Slytherin turn your eyes yellow like a snake?" I giggled at his questions.

"No." He feigned disappointment.

"Well that is a shame. It would have made the family Christmas photograph so much more interesting. But I am afraid that all they will see if a beautiful, intelligent, and ambitious young witch surrounded by family who loves her." Tears finally sprang from my eyes and I hugged my father as tightly as I could. He stood, lifting me off my feet as my mother and brother joined in the hug. We only separated when we heard the whistle from the train, alerting us and the other students who still lined the platform that it was time to go.

"Basil, darling." My mother spoke as my father kept hold of one of my hands after placing me back on my feet. He pressed a kiss to the top of my head as I looked to my brother who took firm hold of my shoulders.

"We will see you at Christmas." Alec said, perfectly calm. He hugged our father briefly and tutted as our mother left a crimson lipstick stain on his cheek.

"Mum, come on. My friends…"

"You will never be too old for a kiss from your mother." She tutted. I giggled at his feeble attempt to rub off the stain as we headed for the carriage door.

"Behave! Do not get into trouble!" Our mother called.

"Don't forget to write!" Our father added. I glanced back as they stood together arm in arm, waving to us both.

"Love you!" I called as Alec lifted me over a stray trunk and onto the train.

"Look after your sister!" I heard our father call before the train door shut behind us, locking itself tight. Within moments the train began to pull away. I leant from the small window and waved to them both until they were out of sight. As the train left Kings Cross, everyone began to settle into their seats and compartments. It all felt like the beginning of a new chapter in my life and I was suddenly nervous.

"Come on." Alec gestured, keeping hold of my shoulders and making me walk ahead of him as he guided me through the throngs of people who were chattering away, discussing their activities from over the summer.

"First years have their own carriage; to force you all to get to know each other before we get there." I nodded silently.

I was surprised by how many friends from other houses my brother had. I knew he was popular; he had received letters daily throughout the summer and it was nice to see that he was surrounded by a large friend group. I couldn't help but notice that one of the main topics of conversation that arose was if Alex was going out with Ember Fall. He tactfully avoided giving a straight answer to the question, but I felt privileged to know that he was dating the pretty Ravenclaw girl. She had spent time at our house over the summer and she had been wonderfully pleasant the entire time. Alec eventually guided me to the back of the train where the door of the last carriage remained shut, sealing it off from the remainder of the steam train.

"This is you, Panda." He roughed my hair again before laughing and leaving me facing the most daunting door I had ever seen in my life. I hesitantly pulled it open and began peering into the compartments that lined the right-hand side of the carriage. There were no individual seats where I could sit on my own and I supposed that was part of the whole forced interaction thing.

As I began to tread the length of the carriage, it became obvious that most of the compartments were already full of other students who seemed to have settled into deep conversation with one another. Some of them held familiar faces but there was no one I really considered to already be a friend. I left them to it and continued to seek out somewhere to sit. I began to feel nervous as I neared the end of the train, thinking I would end up sat alone in the corridor. But then I came across a small compartment with only one boy, sat alone. He was staring out of the window, watching the English countryside roll by. His gentle gaze shifted to a steely stare when I tapped on and opened the door.

"Who are you?" He demanded before I'd had the chance to introduce myself. I instantly recognised him as the boy from _Madam Malkin's_, there was familiarity in his eyes as well but there was still no smile and my own faded quickly.

"Umm, I'm Nina." There was a moment of awkward silence as I cleared my throat, "You were in the robe shop. What's your name?" He hesitated for a moment as if assessing the risk of telling me.

"Draco." He finally answered, he opened his mouth again as if to tell me something else, but I had already interrupted him.

"Oh! Like the constellation! That's cool, I love astronomy. Your name is also on the school's logo, but I suppose you know that don't you? My name comes from a Babylonian goddess of oceans. My full name is Antonina, but no one calls me that," I cleared my throat as I realised, I was babbling utter nonsense, it was one of the most obvious ways I gave away that I was nervous.

"It's um…just Nina." The pointless and embarrassing fact had left my mouth before I could stop it. Draco simply nodded as a further moment of awkward silence descended between us. Suddenly two rather large boys came thundering down the corridor and pushed past me to gain access to the compartment. My eyebrows furrowed in annoyance at their careless attitudes. They looked like they belonged in third year but they both also wore generic uniforms, identical to the other first years. It made me feel slightly better that I wasn't the only one who had been forced to change early.

"Whose she?" One asked, looking me up and down with distaste clear on his chubby face. His head reminded me of a Quaffle and his features were concentrated heavily in the centre of his large head, giving him a 'baby-face' appearance. His clear distaste was mirrored by my own identical expression of the same nature.

"She's not sitting with us, is she? We don't even know your last name." The other questioned, sniggering and I suddenly knew the kind of people they were, those that cared about last names over anything else where never the nicest people. I was slightly taken aback but before I could protest, Draco answered for me.

"No. She's not sitting with us." I scrunched my nose in annoyance and let the door slide shut, deciding I didn't want to be friends with any of them anyway. I dipped my hand into my satchel, stroking the soft contents as I continued to hunt for somewhere to sit.

At the very back of the carriage, I found one more compartment. A blonde girl sat inside with her face buried in a rather old copy of _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. _I smiled at the worn spine and dog-eared pages. A well-read book was a well-loved book like my father had said to me when I was a young child. Most of the books on my shelf at home had been passed down from generations ago and some of them were written in different languages that I'd had to learn in order to read them. I knocked on the window, not wanting to open the door this time. The girl inside looked up, offered a small smile and nodded. I opened the door as she got to her feet and smiled wider.

"Hi! I'm Amelia. Everyone calls me Mia though unless I'm in trouble. Do you want to sit with me?" She asked, gesturing to the spare seat opposite her. Her abrupt introduction that was so similar to my own only a few moments ago made me instantly like her.

"Can I?" I questioned. "I've tried everywhere else."

"Sure! My Mum and Dad packed loads of snacks. We can share if you want." She pulled on the handle of her brown leather satchel that had a rag-doll kitten sleeping on top of it.

"Come on, Jinx. Move your bum." She muttered, gently pushing her now growling companion onto the fabric seat. The fluffy white cat opened her mouth in an extended yawn before curling up again in a ball and returning to her disturbed slumber.

"She's pretty." I commented, allowing the door to slide closed behind me. Jinx's snowy fur contrasted heavily against the red plush of the train seats. I patted my own satchel, causing a paw to swipe at my hand.

"Oh, my goodness, do you have a cat too?" Mia questioned, noticing as the paw retreated back into the bag. I nodded and opened the top of my satchel, pulling out my large, extremely grumpy Maine Coon. She was only five months old and already bigger than a Jack Russel. She jumped from my hands and onto the seat where she stretched out her legs, meowing as she spotted Jinx. We watched as the two cats examined each other across the gap before they began to playfully swat at one another.

"What's her name?" Mia asked.

"Iris. Well Osiris. I named her after the Egyptian God of Death."

"She's beautiful." Mia smiled, clearly unfazed by the odd tale behind my cat's name. Everyone prior to her had looked at me with concerned glances after I'd explained the meaning behind it.

"Jinx is stunning too. Those eyes…" I complimented as Mia rummaged in her satchel, pulling out a handful of money. I found the whole thing quite odd and my eyebrows furrowed as she reached forward and offered me some. I hesitantly took a gold coin, not wanting to seem rude. It looked like a galleon, but it was slightly smaller, and the edges were a lot neater. I stared at it in my palm before looking back up at her with confusion.

"What? Haven't you seen chocolate before?" Mia questioned as she pulled away the foil on her own coins to expose chocolate underneath.

"Chocolate money? That's amazing." I commented as I pulled the cover away and bit into it. "Where did you get them?"

"My Dad got them from Woolworths a couple of days ago."

"Is that in Diagon Alley? I've never heard of it?" Mia laughed at my still confused expression.

"No, it's a muggle shop. How have you never seen a Woolworths? They're everywhere." I shrugged as I opened my bottle of water before taking a sip.

"If there isn't one in Diagon Alley… We don't shop anywhere in the muggle world. They don't really…tend to our needs."

"Oh, do you live in the Wizarding world?" I nodded in response, opening a second coin and taking a bite.

"You don't?" I guessed. Mia shook her head, honey blonde curls bouncing around her shoulders.

"No. I'm 50/50. Like the bread." She giggled to herself and I smiled despite not knowing what was funny. "My Dad's a muggle. My Mum was in Slytherin whilst she was at school. What about you?"

"Oh, my whole family is magical. As far back as we can trace back our lineage. My mother was in Slytherin too. Her whole family has been since Hogwarts existed. Everyone on my Dad's side too until he came along, he ended up in Ravenclaw. My brother too, Alec."

"Ooh, so you don't know where you'll get put?"

"I suppose not," I shrugged. "But I guess that's part of the excitement, isn't it?"

The remainder of the train journey passed quickly as we became better acquainted with one another. Eventually, the day began to darken as evening drew in. Mia changed into her generic school robes as I cleared up the sweet wrappers we had absentmindedly dropped on the floor during our conversations. I opened the top of my satchel and after patting the leather, Iris jumped back in, resting her chin on the edge. I scratched behind her ears as the train began to slow and excited first years poured out of their compartments and into a quickly crowding corridor.

"Behave whilst I'm gone. Please don't scratch anyone." Iris growled in response causing Mia to laugh.

"I love your cat." She smiled as Jinx jumped into her own satchel.

"She can be a challenge." I sighed as I peered out of the dark window. Far off in the distance, I could see the glistening light and I'd heard enough to know that Hogwarts was near.


	3. Chapter 3 - Journey Across the Black Lak

Chapter 3 – Journey across the Black Lake

It was late evening by the time the Hogwarts Express finally slowed down and came to a stop at Hogsmeade Station. Mia and I forced ourselves to wait in our own compartment for as long as possible before eagerly joining the other excited students in the train corridor who were watching the older years already outside on the platform. They quickly began to head off in different directions towards the various forms of transport that would escort them all to the castle. Eventually, the seventh-year prefects opened the doors to the final carriage and a sea of eleven-year-olds poured out onto the rain-dampened platform. The excitement amplified even further, with the castle having come into full view. It was a glorious spectacle of twinkling lights in the distance and I could almost feel the magic surrounding the ancient castle. Everyone was chattering excitedly amongst themselves and pointing up at the magical building. I clutched onto the sleeve of Mia's robe to prevent us from being separated in the swarm of schoolmates that we didn't know. Initially, we were unsure of where to go, just stumbling about awkwardly as we wandered around with no real direction. But before long a booming voice came from the end of the platform and took all of our attention.

"Firs' years this way! All firs' years come on! Over 'ere, that's it, chop, chop, we ain't got all nigh'!" Mia and I followed the sound through the dispersing threads of students who already knew where they were going. As we got closer, I spotted the largest man I had ever seen, smiling widely down at us all.

"Oh, my…" Amelia muttered quietly, barely loud enough for even me to hear.

"He must be a giant." I stated, my voice a little louder than hers and it seemed like he was. Holding a lantern so big it could have been the moon; he was heavily bearded with tiny black eyes.

"My mum said all the giants are gone – they died or were banished after the First Wizarding War." Mia whispered.

"Why would you banish giants?" I questioned but my question went unanswered as the giant in front of us introduced himself as Hagrid before lifting a huge arm and gesturing for us to follow after him. He turned slowly, his movements rather cumbersome, and began to walk down a narrow dark path with trees on either side. They reached over the path above our heads, creating a canopy that kept the ground beneath our feet dry and crumbly. Each of the giant's steps required us to break into a jog just to keep up. After a while, the path widened, and we soon reached the stony shores of a large, dark lake. Quietly bumping against the rocks on the shoreline, was a series of small boats. Dainty swinging lanterns hanging from the fronts – casting a yellowish glow onto the rippling water underneath.

"Do you suppose Jinx and Iris will be okay on the train by themselves?" Mia asked, glancing over her shoulder with a worried expression as if both cats would be found following after us, noisily protesting at being left alone. I smiled softly; she clearly shared a strong bond with her cat. It was something Iris and I also shared but in a different capacity, Iris has been independent since she was a kitten and so often spent days away from me. We'd been instructed to leave our bags with our cats in our compartment but had also been promised by the stewards that they would all be waiting for us in the common room of our assigned houses.

"I feel sorry for anyone who tries to pick up my satchel – Iris isn't good with new people." We turned our attention back to Hagrid who once again faced the sea of students.

"All youse go' ta do is say go, and they go. No more than four of ya in one boat, last year we had a capsizin'. Too' three days to find em." A small chuckle rippled through the group before we realised he was serious and the humour quickly faded away. He climbed into his own boat that was significantly larger than ours and everyone followed suit. Amelia and I climbed into our own boat, scooted to the front and took hold of the lantern stem, well I did. Mia clutched onto the sides of the boat as if it would capsize at the first given opportunity.

"Go." Mia instructed and the boat began to push itself out across the water. As we slowly glided across the water, Hogwarts beckoned closer and closer until I had to tilt my head back to try and see it all. I felt my heart flip in my chest, this was it, eleven years of waiting had paid off and I was finally here. Light glimmered in every window and the turrets stretched high into the dark starry sky and the excitement in the air grew with every second. As the castle got closer, I felt my wand begin to quiver in my robes. Twelve and a half inches of sycamore wood with a dragon heartstring core, it was my most prized possession. I'd had it less than a week and I already felt such a strong affinity with it – never letting it out of my sight. As the boats glided closer to cliff face, excitement grew further as we sailed through a curtain of damp ivy and into a large cave. The water rippled against the walls and ceilings, creating a silent symphony of shapes surrounding us. I stifled a giggle as I caught Mia battling with a strand of stray Ivy that had found itself caught in her hair. Each of the boats glided slowly into a mini dock like rock formation and each student eagerly jumped out. One boy had placed only one foot on to the dock before slipping and falling over, much to the amusement of Draco and his two friends.

"That's Neville." Mia commented quietly as she glanced behind us. "He came into my compartment a little before you, saying he'd lost his toad."

"Bless him." I mused with a giggle as we watched two other boys help Neville to his feet; one with red hair and a smudge of dirt on his nose. The other had messy black hair and circular glasses. Neville blurted out some 'thank you's' and stayed as close to the wall as possible, keeping his palms outstretched on the damp stone. Hagrid waited until all attention was back on him again and began to walk up a set of damp steps, the sound of his heavy feet echoing throughout the cave. Soon the steps changed from wet rock to dry stone and suddenly, light flooded my eyes and I couldn't believe it. I was here, actually in Hogwarts; on the grand staircase with only huge oak doors separating me from the Great Hall. Excitement once again began to bubble, and chatter soon became loud conversation. Mia and I found ourselves at the front of the group and were stood next to the two boys who had assisted Neville. Mia had briefly turned to me and clutched my hand in hers with an excited squeak like we had been friends our entire lives before I heard her introduce herself to the two boys as I shifted between examining the crowd and staring at the oak doors, waiting for someone to emerge.

Suddenly, a witch approached the top of the stairs and we all quietened. Dressed in sleek emerald robes, she held a scroll wrapped with a black ribbon. Her grip was tight, and she wore a stern expression on her face. Holding out one hand, she spoke with a voice that commanded authority, laced with a thick Scottish Accent.

"Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry. Now, I'm sure you're all very excited, hungry and impatient. But before the feast can begin you must be sorted into your houses. It will be either Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Slytherin." I couldn't help but notice a hint of disdain in the witch's voice as she read off the last house, but it was only the start of the list of things I'd been told to expect. As she took a breath to continue her speech, she was cut short by Neville lunging forward between Mia and me to scrape his toad off the top step. It had somehow made it to the castle along with everyone else without being squashed underfoot. He looked sheepishly up at the witch before muttering apologies and returning to the middle of the group. She sighed and curtly turned, leaving us all alone.


	4. Chapter 4 - The Sorting Ceremony

Chapter 4 – The Sorting Ceremony

Calm did not descend over the group of us that were crowded onto the staircase and the silence was short lived as Draco sauntered to the front of the jostling first years and singled out the boy with messy black hair. Before he opened his mouth to speak, he shot a smirk in Mia's direction and I glanced at her as she crossed her arms over her chest, defiance clear on her face. There had clearly been some kind of unsavoury interaction prior to now and I was pleased that it wasn't just me he seemed to dislike. His eyes briefly flickered to me only to frown again – an expression that was reciprocated with an exaggerated eye roll. But his own attention soon returned to the boy in front of him.

"So it's true then, what they were saying on the train. The _famous _Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts." Every student turned their attention to both boys and whispers of the well-known name rippled throughout the crowd. I arched an eyebrow at the surprising revelation though I suppose I shouldn't have found it _too _surprising, of course I knew the legend of the boy who lived – every child with magical blood did. It had been the main conversation at Diagon Alley between all the shop owners. Had Harry Potter chosen his wand yet? What kind of pet do you think he'll take? Etc. They'd all been vying for his custom, probably so they could stick a plaque above the door stating they'd served "the boy who lived."

As Draco waited for the whispers to settle, I made a mental note that he seemed to like it when all attention was on him. The limelight was this boy's favourite place to be. He introduced the large boys behind him as Crabbe and Goyle, both of whom sported vacant expressions. I recognised their names from reading about magical ancestry and decided that they had inherited their father's looks – or lack thereof. I couldn't help but raise a judgmental eyebrow.

"I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy." He said confidently, causing a half-snigger, half-snort to come from the red-haired boy stood next to Harry.

_Of course! _I thought to myself; _He's a Malfoy. That explains so much. _My Mother would often come home from work complaining about 'Malfoy' from one of the departments she managed. I imagined that must be Draco's father.

_Like father like son. _

Draco's head snapped to the dirty-nosed redhead next to Harry and quickly gave him the once over before another smirk appeared. I wondered if that was his default face – whether he woke up every morning smirking and waiting for someone to ridicule with his words. It must be quite a tiring existence.

"Something funny, Weasley? I'd of thought with the amount of you with your last name, you'd have heard every joke there was." I heard Mia exhale slowly as the students were finally silenced by the now-obvious tension in the air. Draco turned his attention back to Harry and held out his hand, appearing to offer friendship. Harry rejected the offer without a moment of hesitation and I had to say it was rather admirable, for a boy who had only just found out he was a wizard. It was never officially confirmed but plenty of newspaper articles over the years had reported on how Harry Potter was living out his childhood with monstrous muggles who kept him locked in the stairs and stopped him from using magic.

I heard Mia snort with laughter from beside me and Draco's attention snapped round to the two of us. I kept my head low and hoped that he was too focused on Mia to see my shoulders shaking slightly.

"Clearly I'm missing out on more than one joke today. What are you laughing at, Cavett?" He questioned with narrowed eyes.

"Oh, nothing at all. Don't mind me." I glanced at her to see a sweet but obviously false smile plastered on her lips. As I managed to retain a neutral expression, Draco's eyes once again washed over me and I felt my own narrow at him. I dropped my eyes as the green witch reappeared and tapped him impatiently on the shoulder with her scroll. He quickly shuffled back into the crowd, elbowing other students out of the way to make space for him. He really was not a very nice person.

"We're ready for you now, follow me."

I could hardly contain my excitement as the doors to the Great Hall swung open. I took hold of Mia's sleeve as we were all condensed down into pairs to walk up the inside of the two middle tables. Every student watched us as we nervously passed them, Gryffindor on one side and Hufflepuff on the other. As Mia commented on the enchanted ceiling I looked for the blue and bronze of Ravenclaw and looked up the table to where the fourth years sat. I quickly spotted Alec, he was surrounded by friends and next to him, holding his hand, was the girl I knew to be Ember. They all waved to me and I waved back excitedly as we reached the front of the hall and stood opposite the teachers at the top table. In front of us all was a dirty, pointed hat that almost looked like it had a face on it, sat on a rickety old stool. The witch gestured for us to spread ourselves along the bottom step before turning to an aged wizard with a great white beard. I knew straight away that I was standing in front of Albus Dumbledore, one of the greatest wizards ever.

"Professor Dumbledore has a few statements to make." The green witch said as the headmaster stood and looked over the rims of his half-moon glasses. He examined us with beady dark eyes, I couldn't help but wonder what things his eyes must have seen over the many years he'd lived. He briefly ran one wrinkled hand over his long snow-white beard.

"First years please take note; the Dark Forest is strictly forbidden to all students. Also our caretaker Mr Filch…" he gestured to a raggedy looking man at the back of the hall who had a red-eyed tabby cat, sat on his shoulder. Even from the front of the hall, I could hear its low growl. He looked like someone that I wanted to steer well clear of. My mother may have been smiling when she told me to not get in trouble, but she was deadly serious and I knew it

"…would like me to remind _all _of you…" he then cast a glance at two red-headed twins sat at the middle Gryffindor table. "…that the Third-Floor Corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds." He nodded to the witch and once again sat down. She unrolled the scroll and I could barely contain myself, the actual moment was drawing closer and closer. She picked up the hat by the tip and called out the first name;

"Hermione Granger!" Mia and I watched as a small girl with extremely bushy hair, and slightly oversized front teeth, approached the stool whilst muttering calming words to herself. We exchanged a sceptical look. If we hadn't been so nervous, we may have actually shared a small laugh.

"Gryffindor!" The hat cried out and the Gryffindor table burst into applause.

"Draco Malfoy." The witch called next. She hadn't even let go of the end of the hat before it replied.

"Slytherin!" The table to the far left cheered this time.

One by one each student climbed the steps and got sorted into their respective houses. It bothered me that there appeared to be no order to how everyone was being sorted. I had thought they would do it alphabetically, that would seem to make the most sense but no, Granger had been sorted first then Malfoy and then back to C for Mia. It just didn't make any sense but I smiled to her as she got sorted into Slytherin nonetheless, watching as she was handed a green and silver hair bow by an older blonde student. She smiled gratefully and pinned it into her blonde curls.

When there was just a few students remaining in front of the table of professors, it was finally my turn.

"Nina Rosier." I swallowed nervously, climbed the steps, reminded myself not to trip on the hem of my robes and turned to face the Great Hall. I felt all eyes on me but I focused on the doors, trying to remember what my parents had said to me on Platform 9 ¾.

"Ah! Another Rosier." I tried not to jump as the hat shouted once it was placed on my head.

"I've been sorting your family for hundreds of years. Your brother was an anomaly, an eagle amongst serpents." I looked over to Alec who was smiling along with his friends. The hat almost seemed to sigh in thought as I felt a breeze tickle the top of my ears. I gripped the edge of the stool tightly, the hat almost seemed to be in my head. It felt as though it was watching my thoughts, finding my greatest dreams and deepest fears – the whole process felt incredibly invasive.

"So much ambition, wit, cunning, creativity. Just like your mother…ah yes, I know. Slytherin!" The table to the far left of the room erupted into cheers and whistles as the witch removed the hat and I glanced to my brother who was clapping proudly, earning a few odd looks from other housemates. I made my way over to my new-found housemates. Draco sat alongside Crabbe and Goyle, a girl with short brown hair and a young boy with a stern face. My tie changed from plain black to green and silver with a hissing serpent emblazoned on the chest of my robes. Mia smiled brightly as I sat down next to her.

"No getting rid of me now." She grinned, nudging my shoulder. I adjusted her bow and blew her a dramatic kiss. We both watched as the last two students were sorted into their houses. A short brunette girl was sorted into Hufflepuff and the last boy, Blaise Zabini smiled as he took his seat opposite me – offering his hand which I shook politely.

Once the hat was gone, Professor Dumbledore took to his feet once again and held out his hands to the hall, we all watched in awe as food rose up through the bottoms of the tables and settled itself right in front of us.

"Feast."


	5. Chapter 5 - Slytherin

Chapter 5 – Slytherin

It took a considerable amount of time but eventually everyone had had their fill of the food Hogwarts could offer. Between courses I had become briefly acquainted with our house ghost, The Bloody Baron and had been firmly instructed by an older student from up the table to never ask him how he got so bloody. Not that is mattered greatly – it could be the first thing I could research in the library. It was a library I'd heard so many good things about and I couldn't wait to explore the vast amount of books that it held.

After the older years had gone to their common rooms, The Head Boy and Head Girl of each house had stood and began leading the their own first years out of the hall and giving us all directions to our own common rooms. I managed to catch Alec's eye as he waited on the staircase leading toward Ravenclaw tower with his housemates whilst I followed mine down into the depths of the castle. He mouthed em'speak tomorrow' /emto me and I nodded and waved before he went out of sight.

"I'll be right back," Mia whispered to me suddenly, squeezing my hand before she shot off and onto the main landing. The tall, stone walls were adorned with moving paintings of famous witches and wizards from years gone by. Some waved as we passed and others showed displays of contempt. Some even yelled at those who got a little too close. I supposed it must get boring going through the same process every year – having the same questions asked of you time after time.

"One perk is we won't have to climb all those horrid steps every day." Mia noted, having returned to my side as we stepped down a wide staircase into the increasingly dark depths of the castle, her sudden appearance made me jump a little. I really needed to pay more attention to what was going on around me.

"Alec once showed me a spell that turns stairs into a slide. It could be fun to trick people with." I remembered suddenly as we reached a dark hall, "I'll show it to you sometime." She nodded in agreement and I made a mental note to mention it to Alec when I spoke to him the next day. My trail of thought however was quickly cut short as the group of students we had been following came to a sudden halt. Two single torches held in black cast iron holders lit either side of a block of plain wall. The bricks were grey, dimpled and cool to the touch and I was sure I could hear water trickling somewhere like a garden fountain but everywhere was dry. Mia and I exchanged confused looks along with all the other first years.

"Slytherin Common Room is easily the most secure in the castle." The Head Boy began. He was very tall and thin with teeth at awkward angles and a shock of messy black hair that looked as though he hadn't paid much attention with brushing it that morning. If he hadn't been in Slytherin, I may have had a private laugh to myself. But if nothing else, I knew Slytherin taught you to have respect for your fellow housemates, no matter what their shortcomings. Luckily for me, that was also a lesson I'd been taught thanks to my upbringing.

"Our common room requires a password just like the other houses but one thing that sets us apart is that few other students can even find the door." The Head Girl said as she stepped to her left and then took one step back, showing that there was actually a gap between the two walls, it had been invisible to us due to its strategic placement in the darkness.. She disappeared, everyone gasped and quickly followed into a dimly illuminated passage. The only light provided were more medieval looking iron torches mounted on the wall. Soon, it widened into another hallway where a single ornate black door was adorned with serpents intertwined amongst one another. The Head Boy muttered the password, something that sounded like Latin and the door swung open, allowing us to enter.

"The Slytherin common room was rather dark when I first stepped inside and it took a few moments for my eyes to adjust. The floor was a deep cherry-hinted mahogany and the walls were carved ornate stone that stretched high above our heads. Much higher than I thought a dungeon common room would be. But it gave the room a feeling of space, despite being under the castle, it felt like we could fly around the room if we so chose. The windows were thick panes of glass that allowed us to look out into the waters of the Black Lake. They stretched from the floor to the heights of the ceiling, flooding the room in a faint green glow. But it also felt as though we were bathed in moonlight, a silvery sheen touching everything in the large room, I hadn't seen any of the other common rooms in the castle but I struggled to believe that any of them would be grander than ours. In the centre of the far wall was a large stone fireplace, above which an emerald-eyed serpent was mounted on a plate. Its single eye glinted in the dim light and almost seemed to follow us around the room as we took in our surroundings. Leather sofas and velvet green armchairs were placed strategically around the room as well as in secluded corners, draped in grey cushions and fluffy blankets they looked perfect to have a nap in. The sight of them alone caused exhaustion to quickly overcome us all and some followed the older student's advice and skulked off to find their dormitories straight away. As I gazed up at the high, vaulted ceiling, I heard Mia yawn next to me.

"I'm exhausted. Coming to bed?" she queried and appeared grateful when I agreed with her idea. We both wandered through a wide, stone passageway to the right of the Common Room, where all the other first year girls were heading. Several doors lined the hall with names scribbled on sheets of parchment. Under the silver '3' on the door in front of us, were both our names along with three others.

"Hey, look! We're in the same dorm!" Mia smiled as she pushed open the door to the large and rectangular room. The far wall that was directly opposite us was an ornate floor to ceiling window with intricate gothic metal carvings keeping the panes of glass in place. The waters on the other side were murky and strangely intriguing. Creatures flitted past, their shadows clear but never revealing what they really were to any of us. There was a large black bookcase against the window already filled with books and in the corner near to it was a small furnace with yet more armchairs and a soft fabric green sofa. Two beds were along one wall and three along the other. Each was a dark wood four poster with green velvet curtains. Our trunks had all been placed at the ends and I spotted my own on the wall with two beds, the one closest to the window, the trunk emblazoned with the N.R of my initials. The trunk in front of the bed next to mine had A.C painted in delicate gold lettering, flowers intertwining the words.

"I got excited over summer and thought I should personalise it." Mia clarified as if she could hear my thoughts. I smiled as I spotted Iris stretched out lazily on my plush covers, the end of her tail flicking from side to side in contentment. However, I quickly got the vibe of her mood when she shot me a death glare and hopped off the bed, sliding underneath. I knelt at the end, opened my trunk and removed her soft grey bed, slipping it under for her. I felt a grateful lick of my hand which also served as a truce between the two of us. As I got back to my feet I noticed that our school uniforms were already laid out for the next day on the velvet green armchairs that were next to each of our beds. The three other girls whose beds were across the dorm from ours introduced themselves as Pansy Parkinson, Millicent Bulstrode and Sally-Anne Perks. I recognised each of the girl's names from the sorting ceremony and if I wasn't mistaken, Parkinson and Bulstrode were also alongside my name on that same piece of parchment. We'd certainly attended a number of social events together, though I can't say I had a great deal in common with them other than that.

Exhaustion quickly overcame the dorm room as we all wound down from the excitement fuelled day. Each girl quickly changed into their pyjamas - my own were a dark navy with stars on the bottoms – and receded under their covers, wriggling as they acclimatised to the cold sheets. As I laid under my own soft and heavy blankets, I decided that I liked the Slytherin common room, and our own dorms – a great deal. I was happy to have a new found friend too, but I was mostly relieved that Iris got on with Jinx – many a previous attempt at friendship had been foiled by my cat's instinctual dislike of most other people.

So far, Hogwarts was turning out to be everything I'd dreamed about and more.


	6. Chapter 6 - Classes Begin

_Hello,_

I hope this reaches you well, I got up extra early to write this letter so it better get home safe. Bandit bit my finger as I tied it to his ankle, so I refused him treats. He is probably quite hungry now so if you're eating breakfast whilst reading this, guard your eggs.

I was going to write on my first night, but I was just so tired after the train ride, sorting ceremony and then the feast. There was just so much food! I'm sure you're both dying to know which house I got sorted into and the hat said I was just like Mum, so it put me in Slytherin! I was a little worried that Alec would be disappointed, but he was clapping as much as my new housemates. It earned him some very odd looks from the Ravenclaw's at his table, but he didn't seem to mind at all.

I have made new friends, well several in fact but Amelia (Mia) is my best friend, I think. I don't know if she knows this yet, but we are now best friends. She got sorted into Slytherin too and her brother is also in our house, he's a few years older (I can't remember exactly how many) but he seems nice too. Mia and I are also in the same dorm along with Pansy Parkinson, Millicent Bulstrode and Sally-Anne Perks. They all seem nice enough. I also met a few of the first-year boys (don't worry Dad, boy's still disgust me), Blaise Zabini is the nicest one so far, he's very quiet but polite. Unfortunately, Draco Malfoy does not share that same trait. Mum, I understand why you complain about Mr. Malfoy at work so much. If he is anything like his son, then I don't blame you at all.

I love Hogwarts so much already, it's so huge there is so much to explore and the ghosts are so kind and will give you directions if you get lost, all except Peeves. Some of the paintings are quite horrible however and will shout at you if you even look at them.

Everyone is starting to wake up now and Iris is meowing to be fed. I miss you both terribly, but I am safe, having fun and not getting in to trouble. I promise I will write again to you soon. Try not to miss your favourite child too much.

Lots of love,

Nina.

Never before, had I imagined would I be spending one of my classes at Hogwarts being taught by a cat. Not that was an entirely foreign concept to me, Iris spent most of her time staring at me from her favourite spot on my bedroom window ledge at home. Yet here I was, sat next to Mia, who upon arrival had stroked the cat as we had retrieved the seating plan from the teachers desk, not realising it would transfigure into the head of Gryffindor house, Professor McGonagall who we also learnt had been the witch who had sorted us the night before. Mia's face had swiftly gone a deep shade of pink as she located her seat on the parchment and quickly placed herself in it, moving very little once she was there. Whilst I had seen the funny side of the situation, Professor McGonagall didn't and deducted 5 points from Slytherin as Millicent, Sally-Anne and I were in silent stitches behind our hands.

On the way to Herbology we had made our first encounter with Peeves the Poltergeist. Apparently, he was the only thing in Hogwarts more annoying and out of control than the Weasley twins. I'd heard Alec mention them before once, apparently, they were drawn to trouble like a pair of ginger magnets. Peeves however was downright mean. He would jump out of walls screaming wildly, pull rugs out from under our feet and one time we even saw him sneak up behind a Ravenclaw girl and yank on her pigtails so hard that she started crying. We were all rather glad when we were safely closed behind the misted glass doors of the greenhouses. Not that I was happy for long, I realised that I did not enjoy Herbology very much at all. We took our classes three times a week with Hufflepuff and annoyingly, they all seemed rather gifted at looking after a variety of different, and some, dangerous plants. I however did not enjoy putting my hands in a pot of soil even with gloves on. I don't think Professor Sprout enjoyed my lack of enthusiasm. I made a mental note to myself that if I planned on passing the subject, I needed to find a talented partner in the future.

Astrology I enjoyed greatly, even if it was at midnight on a Wednesday. We had to climb to the very top of the Astronomy Tower and examine the skies with our telescopes, tracking the stars and the movements of planets. It was a subject that Mia and I had shared enthusiasm in. Mine was mainly because I loved being in the tower where it was always slightly windy, and it felt like there was nothing between me and the sky. I had a feeling I would be coming up here more and more often.

Normally I liked History. I loved reading about things that happened in the past and how they affected how we did things in the present. Professor Binn's, however made a History of Magic incredibly boring. Alec told me how he'd died in his armchair one night and then got up the next morning, left his body behind and just carried on teaching like nothing had happened. Apparently, no one had the heart to tell him he was dead, so everyone just let him think he was still alive.

I had been immensely looking forward to Defence against the Dark Arts but as I soon as I crossed the threshold to the classroom, I was instantly dying to get out of there. Dust hung thick in the air and there were strings of garlic hung everywhere. The smell was so overpowering it made my eyes water which just made me want to sneeze more than I already did. The garlic was apparently there to prevent a Romanian vampire from seeking revenge on Quirrell from a few years ago.

Potions class on our first Friday was much more eventful – as I had imagined it would be. It was a double period and we would be spending it with Gryffindor. I was actually quite looking forward to seeing how good Harry would be, the destroyer of the Dark Lord would surely be an incredibly capable wizard. I did arrive rather flustered however as I, along with all other first years were learning the delicate art of simply navigating Hogwarts. Sally Anne had stated that there was a grand total of one hundred and forty-two staircases in Hogwarts and not one of them was permanently fixed in one place. Once you had remembered that certain stairs went different places on certain days and that some would spontaneously make a step vanish, you had to fight with the doors. I had never before had to tickle a door two centimetres above the bottom hinge to get it to open and yet that was exactly what I had to do to gain access to the tower that descended down into our potion's classroom.

Professor Snape was much like the school's caretaker, Filch. We quickly learnt that he didn't suffer fools gladly, but my fellow first years had been assured by our older housemates that very morning that he would favour us well enough. He was our head of house after all, it was only fair that someone saw us in a favourable light.

Similarly, to McGonagall, Professor Snape could control a class with little to no effort. Whilst his voice was low and quiet, he commanded respect and incited fear with every dulcet tone. It was easy to decide that having Snape as my head of house could only work in my favour unless I got on his bad side, that was. He was a foreboding character that supported our house and wanted to see us succeed…and I had been well informed that most others would take steps to see us fail.

As we were split into pairs to start brewing a potion to cure boils, Snape swept around us all – his long black cloak billowing out behind him. He loudly criticised nearly everyone he came across from the way they weighed their dried nettles wrong to not crushing their snake fangs finely enough - but when he reached mine and Mia's potion he stopped and arched an eyebrow. As he examined the gently brewing liquid, Mia and I stood underneath him, silent and frozen to our spots, awaiting his criticism. However, he waited a couple of minutes before going to the register and then coming back to our table. At that point, Mia and I were clutching onto each other's robe sleeves anxiously and every other pair of eyes was watching us curiously.

"Rosier, I don't suppose you're related to Basil Rosier?" I nodded quickly, hoping I was giving the correct answer.

"My father." Snape nodded curtly, before glancing into our potion again as a puff of green smoke appeared, making Mia and I jump slightly.

"It seems as though you have inherited his talent for potions." He slid away again, as Mia and I shared a grateful smile to one another and exhaled a breath we didn't know we'd been holding as we resumed our work.

"You are never pairing with anyone else for potions. Ever." Mia whispered in my ear, send the two of us into giggles as we suddenly felt a league above the rest of student who appeared to be struggling with their own potions.

Flying however, was by far my favourite lesson of the week. Slytherin and Gryffindor were paired up to learn together but it quickly emerged that Pansy was so scared of heights she hadn't dared go near a broom prior to our lessons. When Madam Hooch had tried to encourage her, she had started vomiting from the sheer stress of the situation and Millicent had been instructed to escort her to the hospital wing. Mia and I made a mental note to check in on her when we got back to our Common Room, but only after we'd stopped laughing between us for a good five minutes. After the initial drama of the lesson had subsided, we'd been instructed to command our brooms into our hands. Much to my own happiness, mine had shot up into my hand almost instantly, earning me a few looks of dismay from some and annoyance from others. Mia's broom had taken a few more minutes to obey her instructions but soon enough her broom was also in hand. But the next dramatic moment had been only seconds away as Neville Longbottom's broom took on a life of its own and flew off, colliding with the stone walls of the castle on the way. As he'd plummeted to the ground, it was clear our first flying lesson was over.

That night in our dorm, Mia and I filled Pansy and Millicent in on what they'd missed.

"So, Madam Hooch left to take Longbottom to the hospital wing." I said, sat on my trunk at the foot of my bed in my oversized Kenmare Kestrels Quidditch team t-shirt. Mia had braided my hair into tight French braids and I'd had to keep tugging them out of Iris' claws as she insisted on playing with the ends that remained on the end of my bed.

"Then Malfoy found this glass ball that Neville got sent for when you forget things. Said quite a few horrible things too." Mia added as she tied off the last braid, tapping me on the shoulder to tell me she was done.

"Thank you. So, Potter stepped in. Clearly embracing his new-found Gryffindor qualities and tried to get it back. Draco being…well, himself, refused and flew off so Potter did the same." I continued, rifling through one of the many sweet packages my Father had sent me, searching for Orange Slices.

"Malfoy threw the ball and Potter shoots off after it like he's been flying all his life." Mia stated as she reached under her bed for her own secret stash of sweets, safely guarded by Jinx.

"McGonagall somehow found out, and Potter is taken away. Everyone is thinking he'll spend the rest of the year in Detention, which would make sense as that's exactly what Madam Hooch said would happen. But no, he's made the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. He's their new Seeker." I added, puffing as I fought with the plastic bag of sweets that refused to open.

"To top it off, he's now also the youngest seeker in a century to make the house team. So he broke one rule and got rewarded for it, which was also breaking a school policy for not letting first years on Quidditch Teams."

"But surely now they'll have to change that rule?" Millicent questioned, stroking her chin with the feather of her quill as she wrote a letter home to her parents.

"Madam Hooch said there will not be any changing of school policy."

"Ridiculous if you ask me." I heard Mia grumble through a mouthful of fudge flies as she flopped onto her bed.

"What do you guys think of that Gryffindor who seems to do exceptionally well in everything?" Sally-Anne questioned. "Apart from flying that is." She added with a smirk. It was an abrupt change of subject and I shrugged as I recalled the girl in question. Busy haired, and slightly buck toothed, she hadn't done well in flying, in fact she'd been the last one to get her broom off the ground. The frustration in her voice had been annoying after the first two minutes of her repeating herself, by the time we had hit the five minute mark it was just awkward. But eventually, it finally obliged and shot up into her hand – though I could have sworn I saw a flick of Madam Hooch's wrist.

"I mean, she seems to be Flitwick's new favourite. She mastered that levitation spell in about five minutes." I answered through a mouthful of orange jelly goodness. One of the best perks of boarding school, I could eat sweets as late as I wanted and there was no one to tell me off.

"Me and her both, but you don't see my head exploding over it." Mia commented. I rolled my eyes at her, tossing an orange slice in her direction, she expertly caught it and popped it into her mouth. "Mm, I heard the Patil twins talking." Mia added, with a mouthful of jelly beans. "She's a muggle born from Surrey. Both her parents are dentists."

"I guess she's probably hard some horrible things about Slytherin." I said, silently wondering what on earth a dentist was but also not being overly concerned enough to have it explained to me. I retreated from the trunk and climbed under the covers of my bed, allowing Iris to slip underneath and curl herself around my toe, acting like a fluffy hot water bottle.

"It wouldn't be surprising. Especially as she's a mud-blood." Pansy mumbled casually, her face still a little green from earlier in the day. She'd been in bed the whole evening and in all honesty, I thought she'd gone to sleep as she'd offered nothing to our conversation prior to now.

I was silenced, it was unsettling that I was hearing that term more and more recently. My father had explained it to me when I was a young child. I knew it not to be a word that was often heard in civilised conversation. But Pansy used it as if it was a totally normal, seemingly unaffected by how the rest of us had stopped talking. Mia and I exchanged concerned looks as I pulled my covers under my chin and pulled the cord that closed the curtains around our beds. As I laid in the darkness, listening to the waters of the black lake caress the glass of our window, I mulled over Pansy's comment. I wasn't sure what the best response was, so I decided to say nothing at all.


	7. Chapter 7 - Halloween

Chapter 7 – Halloween

Mia and I stood anxiously across from our Head of House as he rested his chin over interwoven fingers whilst glaring at us with cold, dark eyes. We were doing our upmost to conceal how truly proud we were of ourselves and the trouble we had managed to get ourselves into. Professor Snape, however, just continued to scowl heavily as a few pieces of stray but determined confetti remained stuck in his hair. My attempt to conceal my own smugness was the only thing that prevented me from collapsing into fits of laughter where I stood. Eventually, Snape took a breath and placed his hands flat on the desk – breathing heavily as if he needed to slow down his own anger before he spoke to us.

"Never." He began calmly, having finally found the words amongst his rage. "In all my years as a Hogwarts Professor, have I been as humiliated as I was tonight." His jaw was clenched and his teeth appeared to remain gritted together, not moving as he spoke – glaring heavily at both of us. I shifted my weight from one foot to another, taking a sudden keen interest in the flagstone floor and the cracks between the slabs before Mia attempted to offer her best explanation.

"Honestly, Professor. We thought it was Malfoy coming through the door." We quickly realised that that was nowhere near the explanation Snape wanted to hear.

"Has Mr Malfoy not suffered enough at the hands of your childish pranks? The expanding taffy? The exploding pillows? Setting your oddly vicious cats on them? Have you not tortured your housemates enough for your liking? It is only the end of October and yet I believe they have suffered more than most first years should! Not since the Weasley twins have two students caused so much disruption in such a short space of time."

"It was just a bit of fun Professor. It is Halloween after all. It's the festival made for the magic world." I remarked.

"It's not 'just fun' when my students are too terrified to attend my class because _someone _charmed their cauldrons to transfigure into pumpkins and promptly explode! If anything of this nature happens again I will have the two of you expelled!" Mia's jaw dropped at the surprising threat.

"Can you even do that?" She questioned before she'd even realised what she was saying. That was the question where the two of us learned to never again question the authority of Severus Snape. He slowly rose to his feet with clenched, white knuckles and leant over his desk. He was a tall man anyway so to see him leaning over his desk at us was especially intimidating.

"As long as you attend this school and I am head of Slytherin House, your fate rests with me. So yes, Miss Cavett, I can do that and I will. Now go straight to the feast and you two had best make sure we have no need to have this conversation again. For both of your sakes. I will see the pair of you in detention for the remainder of the week." Snape returned to his seat and waved a dismissive hand as he began to traipse out of his office.

"Miss Rosier?" Snape asked before I had managed to get through the threshold.

"Yes, Professor?"

"Get your cat under control. It is supposed to be domesticated. If it attacks one more student, or member of staff for that matter, it will be released into the forest where I'm starting to believe it belongs." I hesitated, rocking briefly on the balls of my feet.

"Yes, Sir." As soon as we were both out of earshot, we collapsed into fits of laughter that continued until we had returned to the Slytherin Common Room.

"I think we owe the Weasley twins a 'thank you'." Mia mentioned as we dropped onto the large leather in the sofa in front of a grand fireplace "I am also quite flattered that Snape considers us as annoying as them."

"It was worth getting in trouble for though! The look on the boys faces as they came flying out of their room! It was priceless! I wish we had a camera to record the moment forever." I grinned as I stretched out before quickly decided that I needed a shower.

"Where are you going? The feast starts soon." Mia questioned as I rose from my seat and headed to the girls dorm to retrieve my shower things.

"I need a shower. Save me a seat and just pile a bit of everything on my plate. I won't be long." I smiled reassuringly.

Leaving the Slytherin Common Room with my clean towel and fresh clothes stuffed into a small bag, I came across the familiar face of my brother who was conveniently stood at the top of the steps to the dungeon. He was waiting with Ember and two other friends when he spotted me.

"You got in trouble! It's only been two months." He smiled in disbelief. "I heard about the pranks thought. I'm sure Mum will be thrilled."

"You did?" I questioned, curiously, surprised at how quickly word seemed to travel in Hogwarts.

"The twins." Ember said smiling delicately, her brunette hair pulled up into a ponytail. "They think they've found their protégés for when they leave."

"Or get expelled, whichever comes first." Alec commented.

"You're not going to tell Mum, are you?" I questioned, chewing my lip nervously at the thought of a howler greeting me one morning. Between the two of our parents, our mother was certainly the enforcer of the law.

"No. But I wouldn't worry about it anyway, Panda. According to Dad, Mum was one of the main troublemakers whilst she was at school. You're only following in her legacy…in true Slytherin fashion. Now if you don't mind, I'm starving." He patted his stomach and draped an arm over Ember's shoulder.

"Don't miss it Nina. The Halloween the feast is the best one." Ember said as she was guided away to the Great Hall. I smiled, waved after them and continued on my way to the showers. There were showers in the Slytherin Common Room, a rather large bathroom suite in fact – one for the girls and another for the boys. But I had quickly managed to find the ones that produced the hottest water with the best pressure and those were on the middle floor. As I ascended the steps, the smell of food from the Great Hall made my mouth water and I quickened my pace – determined not to miss my first Halloween feast. The corridor leading to the bathroom was completely empty and the storm that was raging outside did make for a rather creepy atmosphere. As I approached the shower blocks, my attention was diverted by what sounded like sniffling and crying. I took a few more steps forwards to the showers, intent on ignoring the sound but sighed as my morals dragged me back to the toilets. I dropped my towel on a small wooden bench and peered around the corner.

"Hello?" I asked. There was no response initially but whoever it was would have heard my footsteps by now so I couldn't just walk away.

"Go away." I instantly recognised the voice and sighed, wishing it could have been nearly anyone else in our year. To be honest, I would have preferred if it was anyone else in the entire school.

"Granger…umm Hermione? Are you okay?" I questioned.

"Just go away." She repeated. I glanced at my reflection in the mirror and shrugged my shoulders, leaving the toilets and heading down a small corridor to the showers. I found one hidden in a corner, turned on the water and quickly slipped out of my uniform and stepped under the hot cascading water.

After rinsing my hair, and singing a concert's worth of songs as loudly as I could, I reached out for the towel hook only to find damp tiles. Muttering some choice words to myself, I opened the curtain only to find my towel was not where I thought I had left it.

I wrung my hair out as best I could and grimaced as I tentatively redressed in my school uniform and fashioned a hair band from my tie. I made my way back to the toilets and marched to the bench where my towel and fresh clothes had been left. Frustrated, I let my hair down and roughly dried it before noticing the sound of running water, well…spraying water actually. I glanced back at my shower, and seeing I had in fact turned the water off, furrowed my eyebrows and made my way back to the toilets.

"Hermione? Are you _still _cry…? I was quickly silenced by the sight of a mountain troll, face down on the bathroom floor, with Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley and of course, Harry Potter stood around its head.

"What did you do?!" I asked, finding myself stepping over shard of smashed wood to get a better look at the chaos.

"It's not dead." Harry said, words that were not very reassuring to hear. I think I may have felt safer if it was.

"Wait. You were in there? How did you not here us?!" Ron exclaimed and I felt a pink tinge rising in my cheeks, my singing must have been louder than I thought. A few moments of silence passed between the four of us as we stared at the large, smelly body on the bathroom floor. Just in time for Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape and Professor Quirrell to rush in.

"Ah!" McGonagall exclaimed at the sight of the unconscious mountain troll. She clutched onto the doorframe and gestured to the three members of her house. She scanned across the four of us, three very dirty first years and one poorly dressed, damp one. Her glance lingered on me for a moment too long, like I still managed to look out of place amongst the carnage.

"Explain yourselves this minute!" She demanded. Harry and Ron began trying to mutter out excuses before Professor Snape cut them off.

"Sorry to interrupt what I'm sure is a most fascinating story but I might enquire about what my own student is doing here? Given that little more than an hour ago she was instructed to go _directly _to the feasts and then return to the Slytherin Common Room?" I looked up as every face turned to me and I for once was the most innocent party in the room. Snape had an expression of clear anger, McGonagall with genuine curiosity and Quirrell, who wasn't actually looking at me at all, but wincing whilst staring down at the troll, as if it might wake any moment and continue its tirade of destruction.

"I just needed a shower, Sir. I forgot my towel. Mia is saving me seat in the Great Hall. Honestly." I explained.

"It was my fault, Professor." Hermione suddenly stated boldly. "I'd read about Mountain trolls and thought I could handle them. I was wrong. If Harry and Ron hadn't found me, I'd probably be dead." McGonagall tutted and the expression on her face made her look as though she couldn't wait for the Christmas holidays to begin.

"I am extremely disappointed in you and would have expected more rational decision making on your part. Five points from Gryffindor for your serious lack of judgement. As for you two," she gestured to Harry and Ron, "I hope you realise how fortunate you are, surviving a mountain troll. Five points will be awarded to you both." Having apparently made her point, McGonagall and Snape left as Professor Quirrell ushered us out. I found myself awkwardly walking alongside the three Gryffindor's, clutching my newly found towel to my chest. I nodded to them as Hermione and the two boys left for their common room and I ventured back down into the dungeons.

Mia was on her feet the second I stepped through the door with a plate piled high with food. It appeared as though we were finishing our feast in the common room and I was suddenly famished as I snatched a sausage roll from her food mountain.

"Where were you? So much for not missing the feast! We didn't even get to have desert! Why are you damp?" Her questions and increasing look of humour got the attention of our friendship group.

"Oh, you know…showering isn't possible now, not whilst there are Gryffindor's battling trolls in the bathroom like it's some kind of illegal fighting ring." I shrugged my shoulders whilst happily munching through pastry.

"What?" Mia questioned. "The troll was in the dungeons!" I shook my head, droplets of water from my hair spattering onto my cheeks.

"No, it wasn't. It got into the girl's bathroom on the third floor."

"Shame it didn't stand on you on its way up. Oh wait, judging by your appearance it did." Draco sneered, rousing a chuckle from Crabbe and Goyle. I scrunched my nose and rolled my eyes.

"Oh whatever, Malfoy." Mia accompanied me to our dorm with her platter of food where I dried my hair and slipped into my Halloween pyjamas. Black with white ghosts on the bottoms. Iris looked up at me and meowed softly seemingly understanding the stressful events I had been through. I curled under my covers, sighing in contentment as I picked through the mini feast that had been saved for me. My bed seemed to be the safest place in the whole school at the moment.


	8. Chapter 8 - Quidditch

Chapter 8 – Quidditch

"Wake up! It's game day! Come on, get up!" I had my blankets ripped away from my body and tossed at the foot of my bed whilst simultaneously being violently roused from a rather pleasant dream. I sat up furiously, as Mia jumped onto my bed – also waking a now grumpy Iris. I didn't need to remove my eye mask to know I was face to face with her wide smile, and that she would be already dressed, wrapped in her Slytherin scarf.

"What is wrong with you?" I scowled as I rubbed my eyes, dropping my eye mask onto the covers.

"Oh get up grumpy. I thought you loved Quidditch? It's the first match of the season and we're playing!" Being reminded of the pending day's events gave me the energy I needed to quickly dress, choosing my plain clothes of a black skirt and emerald green cable-knit jumper, I zipped up a small pair of black ankle boots and found my cloak, clipping the silver clasp at my neck and tying my scarf before pulling on my matching gloves. Despite being underground we could still hear the howling winds of outside, it was perfect Quidditch weather.

The two of us excitedly made our way into the common room, smiling as we found it already full of other students happily wearing our house colours with pride. Mia and I approached the fireplace where Crabbe, Goyle, Draco, Blaise, Theo, Pansy, Millie and Sally-Anne were grouped together. Theodore Nott had become something of a late arrival to our group. He was almost as quiet as Blaise and the two of them often paired with one another in classes, working silently and precisely. Blaise and Mia had formed an instant friendship having apparently met at Diagon Alley before the school year started and so I had chosen Theo as the one to be my closest friend other than Mia. He wasn't aware of that fact yet but I would drive the point home and it began by dropping myself onto the floor next to him, offering a small smile. He looked at me with an expression of surprise but I had no hidden agenda and he soon realised that as he visibly relaxed. As I looked around our group of friends I couldn't help but smile again, somehow, what had started with just Mia and I, and then our dorm group, had expanded into being nearly half the Slytherin intake for the year. I found it comforting to be surrounded by so many people I could truly be myself around, it was not something we were privileged to on a day to day basis. Mia however, had once or twice voiced her concerns to me about not being on 'the list' when most of our other friends were. But it had made clear by them, and me, that it didn't matter. Mia was a Slytherin and so she was one of us. It also helped when I'd explained how Crabbe and Goyle were on the list and there was certainly nothing special about either of them. The Sorting Hat put us in Slytherin for a reason and she fit that mould, blood status aside.

"Excited for the first match?" Millie questioned, drawing my attention to her as she happily munched on a Pumpkin Pasty for her breakfast. "Didn't think you'd be up in time." She smiled, I rolled my eyes in response.

"It takes exactly eight hours every night to maintain these looks. We can't all roll out of bed looking like you." My statement was true, whilst Millie was not a small girl by any means, she was proud of who she was and how she looked – which was blooming stunning most days. In the past few evenings, she had been teaching me how to properly apply eyeliner after I'd shared the origin story of my 'panda' nickname from my childhood. We shared a grin before I shrugged my shoulders.

"But yeah, the match should be good." I was very good at playing down how excited I was. If I was going to play for the team one day, I would need to know exactly what we were capable of – and that went for the other teams too. I had noticed how Alec had circled the first Ravenclaw match of the season on my calendar before I'd even got to Hogwarts. It was scheduled in for the second week of February and I was not allowed to miss it…under any circumstances.

"I can't wait!" Mia exclaimed and I couldn't help but smile. Our love of Quidditch was one of the first things we'd bonded over during the first nights at Hogwarts, whispering about World Cups gone by long after our dorm mates had fallen asleep. The only thing we'd disagreed on were our favourite teams – myself being loyal to Ballycastle Bats (my mother's home town and the place I first fell in love with Quidditch) whilst Mia was an avid fan of the Tutshill Tornadoes.

"Changing the subject entirely, but this has been bugging me ever since Halloween." Mia had the attention of our whole group now, each of us looking to where she was sat, wedged between Draco and Blaise.

"Where do you suppose the teachers put that troll?" She questioned, I shrugged casually – not having thought about it since that eventful night on Halloween. Though as the idea passed through my mind all I could see was an unconscious levitating troll being hidden away in the depths of the castle. Not a very comforting thought when that's where we lived.

"Who knows? I'd like to know how it got in here in the first place. I thought trolls are supposed to be stupid – surely there's no way it could have gotten in here by itself. Especially with all the protective charms on the castle." I commented, loosening my scarf as the heat from the fire made me start to sweat.

"They are." Mia stated, as she bit into a chocolate frog that had been graciously donated by Crabbe to the 'feed the Mia' cause of the morning.

"Newt Scamander says troll brains are the size of a Quaffle. With most of the space being taken up by thinking about food." She continued, sounding oddly like Hermione as she recalled the information taken from her favourite book.

"So, what?" Crabbe asked, munching his way through his second chocolate frog of the morning. "Someone let it in?"

"I think so." I nodded. "But who would let a troll into the school? Plus, with the third-floor corridor being blocked off this year. It does seem oddly convenient doesn't it? I asked my brother and he said that other than the Forbidden Forest, no other areas has ever been blocked off to students. "I shrugged my shoulders once again; "It just seems coincidental that the first year Harry Potter comes here, they start restricting access to certain areas of the school from us."

"Then let's find out." Draco blurted abruptly, making himself known for the first time that morning.

"If you're so sure there's a conspiracy, we'll go and find out. Tonight. I'd like to see what's meant to be so scary about the third floor corridor anyway." I couldn't deny I was surprised by his statement, but concealing true emotions was something I was rather apt at and so I simply shrugged my shoulders, preventing a look of potential apprehension being made apparent.

"Well I'm not going to risk expulsion roaming the castle at night so you can carry on without me." Mia expressed, folding her arms over her chest, sinking back into the sofa with a shrug.

"Oh thank you, Amelia, but you're not actually invited." I smirked as Mia narrowed her eyes at Draco but she didn't let it irk her and she jumped from her spot on the sofa and strode over to me.

"Fine. I'll meet you here at midnight." I replied calmly before getting to my feet and linking arms with Mia. I flicked my hair over my shoulder for added dramatic flair and left the common room for breakfast.

"Do you really want to be adventuring around the castle at night?" Mia questioned as we followed our noses to the Great Hall.

"No. But I will never let Draco Malfoy see me scared." I replied confidently.

The noise from the Quidditch pitch could be heard the moment we stepped into the courtyard up at the school. The increasing volume only served to reinforce our excitement as we made our way to the Slytherin stands to support our house team. Towers rose up out of the ground between the student's stands and as I looked around the pitch I could see the red and gold of Gryffindor on the other side of the grass alone with the blue and bronze and Ravenclaw and yellow and black of Hufflepuff. Mia and I shuffled forward through our housemates until we had reached the barrier where we both began to wave our small green flags emblazoned with silver serpents. The atmosphere was infectious and it made my curiosities about the third floor corridor vanish to the back of my mind.

"Isn't Harry making his debut today?" Mia called over the noise of the cheering crowd. I nodded as the early November wind blew my hair over my face, forcing me to reluctantly tie it up.

"Yeah. The Gryffindor's haven't stopped going on about it." We both looked down as the team doors opened and the Gryffindor and Slytherin teams flew out and began doing warm up laps of the pitch, igniting fresh boughs of excitement amongst the spectators. After they had gotten the crowd warmed up, they took their starting positions in a circle with the two seekers above the rest of the players. They all waited patiently as Madam Hooch stepped out onto the field with the trunk of playing balls. The crowd fell silent as she looked up at the floating players, making her expectations clear.

"Now I want a nice clean game. From _all of you._" She appeared to target the last portion of her statement towards the Slytherin's in particular which I wasn't overly surprised about, I knew we would play dirty if our team felt that it was needed. Everyone waited silently, anticipating the beginning of the game. Kicking the trunk, two heavy brown balls flew out of their own accord and up past the players. The enthusiastic voice of the match commentator, Lee Jordan – a Gryffindor third year, came over the tannoy.

"The bludgers are released, followed by the Golden Snitch. The player who catches the snitch, wins the game." The snitch was so small it was almost impossible to see, as soon as it had appeared, it was gone again and I figured I would get a headache if I tried to keep my eyes on it. I was certainly not cut out to be a seeker. Madam Hooch reached into the case and pulled out the final ball.

"The Quaffle is released, and the game begins!" Lee Jordan announced and as soon as he had finished his words, the players took off in dozens of different directions.

There was no build up to Quidditch, it's very much an all or nothing game, and that was one of my favourite things about it, the adrenaline rush was constant. Players were instantly taking hits and kicks from their opposing team and in some cases from their own equipment. There were rules in place, the same as any other sport, but I figured most referees made the decision that it was safer to not try too hard to enforce them during game play. There was no quicker way to get hurt than to stray on to a Quidditch pitch during the middle of a game. The Bludgers made a horrible whistling sound as they whipped around the pitch, almost as if they were looking for stray limbs to damage. In a few instances, they got so close to the crowd, multiple students had to duck out of the way in order to avoid being hit. There was no half-time, in fact there was no clock at all. In Quidditch, you played until a winner was declared and for a while it was close. Both teams drew 20-20 at one point and with one of Gryffindor's chasers unconscious on the field, it looked promising. The noise coming from the Slytherin stands appeared to add to the team's motivation and the snitch was spotted by Terrence Higgs who quickly shot off after it. Harry Potter was nowhere to be seen and as I scanned the pitch, wondering where the debut Gryffindor seeker was, I spotted him clinging onto the handle of his broomstick, dangling about twenty feet in the air.

"Look!" Crabbe shouted as he too spotted Harry. The entire Slytherin stand began to laugh and jeer at the youngest member of the Gryffindor team.

"What's wrong with his broom?" Mia asked, slight concern clear on her face.

"I don't know – maybe he's just a terrible flyer." I smirked, it quickly vanished however with a "not the time or place" glare from Mia. I glanced behind us to spot Malfoy, seeing he was laughing at Harry along with the rest of us, I decided it wasn't him. The two boys seemed to butt heads on a daily basis since their first unfortunate interaction and Malfoy certainly jumped at any given opportunity to ridicule him.

Harry slipped and the whole stadium gasped, even the Slytherin stand's volume decreased in intensity as we witnessed the drama unfolding above our heads. Suddenly, his broom stopped trying to fling him off and Harry could swing his weight over and regain control. Once he had, he wasted no time in flying after Higgs. As quickly as the drama had engulfed the stadium, it was forgotten and the excitement of the game returned. The snitch took a nose dive and so did both the seekers, chasing it with everything they had. They dove from above everyone's heads and down past the stands, towards the ground until Higgs pulled away at the last-minute leaving Harry chasing the snitch alone. General gameplay seemed to have suspended with everyone watching as Harry stood on the handle of his broom, slowly inching further and further to the edge with one arm outstretched, reaching for the snitch.

"He's going to fa…" Mia began but was cut short as Harry did indeed fall off the end of his broom and barrel rolled onto the pitch. He seemed to roll for an unnecessarily long time before eventually coming to a halt as silence fell over the stadium. After a few moments, he stood and clutched his stomach with a pained look written across his face. Mia's gloved hands shot to cover her eyes.

"Is he gonna be sick? I can't stand vomit." She was the only one looking away – the rest of the stadium watched closely as Harry heaved once more and the snitch popped out of his mouth and landed in his gloved palms. Lee Jordan's voice boomed over the tannoy.

"Harry Potter has caught the snitch and scored 150 points!" Flying above them all, Madam Hooch blew her whistle, declaring Gryffindor the winners. Applause broke out in every stand other than where green and silver dominated and the chants of 'Go, Go, Gryffindor' drowned out the Slytherin's boos and jeers.

"I don't know if I like school Quidditch as much as I thought I would." Mia commented, having uncovered her eyes once the crowds has broken out in cheer.

"I'm sure we'll do better in the next game." I said as we turned our backs to the pitch and began to shuffle back to the castle for lunch with the rest of our disappointed housemates. Surely it could only get better. 


	9. Chapter 9 - The Third Floor Corridor

Chapter 9 – The Third Floor Corridor.

I pulled my dormitory door closed as quietly as I could, hoping to not wake my sleeping dorm mates as I listened for the click that would tell me it was shut. I'd left Iris asleep under my bed with a handful of cat treats in exchange for her silence. Mia had said she would stay up and join Draco and me on our adventure just to irritate him with her presence but almost as soon as we had gotten into bed, she had fallen into a deep slumber. I couldn't blame her, the day had been exciting and exhausting and even I had taken a brief nap in order to be able to commit to these midnight escapades. I tiptoed into the common room where the fire was smouldering, still emitting a warming glow. Draco was sat on the sofa already waiting, fully dressed also wearing his Slytherin cloak. I couldn't help but smirk.

"Did you actually do your hair to sneak out in the middle of the night?" He stood up and sighed, annoyance clearly displayed on his face. The rims of his eyes were pink and I figured he was probably exceptionally tired as well – maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

"Are we doing this or not?" He asked impatiently, and I simply replied with a nod.

"I want to know what's so deadly about that corridor." We left our common room, slowly and silently making our way up the steps and into the dimly lit main hall of the castle where the staircases still moved in the dead of night. Only ghosts remained to ascend and descend the stone steps. Some waited for the stairs to come round and meet them whilst others just carried on floating dozens of feet in the air with nothing underneath them.

"Where is it?" I questioned, squinting in the darkness, trying to find the small door we were all forbidden from. There were so many doors lining the walls of the main hall and I'd learnt over recent weeks that some of them didn't even go anywhere. Draco drew his wand and pointed it upward.

"Lumos." A bright white light illuminated all the entrances the staircases led. I pointed to each door on each floor and counted until I found the one I was looking for.

"Look, there it is." I pointed before turning to him. "I didn't know you knew that spell." Draco shrugged as if it meant nothing at all but I doubted even Hermione had taught herself that spell yet. It wasn't a charm that was outlined in our charms books for this year at all.

Sensing that he wasn't about the respond to my statement, we quickly jumped onto the first staircase as it began to rotate around to the second floor where we slipped past a lost, forlorn looking ghost and onto another flight of stairs that took us onto the left hand side of the third floor. Another ghost that I was sure was the Bloody Baron caused us both to quickly slip out of sight until he passed. As soon as we were sure that it was out of sight, we ran across the bridge and onto the right-hand side, just as the staircase slipped away and we were left on a small ledge with nowhere to go but through the door.

"Come on." I muttered as I lifted the heavy lock and pushed the door open. Its hinges creaked loudly as we slipped through and as it swung partially closed behind us. We were in pitch black for a moment until a concrete pillar ignited, making me jump slightly and we were thrown into firelight, exposing a ghoulish statue that loomed over us both. It was draped in cobwebs and looked as though it had remained untouched for years. Its long claw-like fingers almost seemed to move in the flickering torchlight.

"Ok, granted it's creepy. But I don't see how it's dangerous." I said, not feeling quite as confident as I might have been letting on. The smouldering fire of our common room seemed incredibly comforting in that moment. Suddenly, there was a harsh, almost screeching meow from behind us and we both turned to face a dishevelled looking tabby cat with large, red eyes.

"It's that Squib's cat!" Draco exclaimed as it meowed again and took a few steps towards us. It was a scrawny thing but it evoked fear none the less, we had all quickly learnt that where that cat went, Filch was soon behind ready and willing to have us expelled for the most minor infractions.

"Come on!" I said, tugging harshly on Draco's sleeve. I had no doubt that if he got caught, he would rat me out too and given how recently I had been in trouble, I was not eager to repeat that process. We began to briskly walk away and broke out into a run, our shoes pounding on the concrete, as the cat continued to follow us.

"Mrs Norris?" We heard Filch call, his voice echoing in the empty corridor. Torches along the wall continued to light by themselves, exposing statue after statue, each one seeming to reach out to grab us. At the end of the hall were two more, both with huge stone wings and their hands covering their faces, they looked distinctly different to the others and despite their angelic features, I felt incredibly uneasy in their presence. Draco yanked on the handle of the door between them.

"It's locked!" He cursed, panic clear on his face and it I hadn't also been scared I may have gloated.

"Move!" I took out my own wand and recalled one of the spells I had read up on earlier in the year.

"Alohamora." I whispered, I felt the magic move down my arm and through my wand, watching as the latch lifted itself allowing us both inside the room. We swiftly closed the door behind us and I stepped back as Draco pressed his ear against the wood. The room was even darker than the hall and I couldn't help but notice an unusual warm breeze. I decided on the spot that there must be a window open before remembering that it was November and that there wouldn't be any warm air this time of year. It was a fleeting thought none the less as I was undeniably more concerned with Filch potentially coming through the door. I could see the shame on my parents faces already, expelled from Hogwarts before I'd even got to the Christmas holidays.

"I think he's gone." Draco said as he lifted his head from the wood, nodding in silent agreement to his own statement.

"Open the door." I said quietly as my eyes fell on the true source of the mysterious breeze in the room.

"Why?" He questioned as he turned to look at me, he was quickly silenced however, by the large three-headed dog that slowly lifted its heads and began to snarl at the two of us as we appeared to have woken it from its slumber. I turned on the spot and ripped the door handle up again and ran out, not caring if I came face to face with Filch on the other side – it would be better than being mauled to death by a hell hound. Draco followed closely behind me, both of us swinging the door back and leaning on it with all our force to shut it as the dog plunged its heads into the doorway, pushing it back open again.

"Close it!" Draco yelled, I rolled my eyes as I forced all my weight onto the old wood. His hand was pressed over mine, pushing on the door with as much force as I was as we both mentally willed it to close and eventually, we managed to catch the lock and Draco fired a spell to prevent it from slipping open. As we both took a step back – my blood hammering in my ears – to make sure the door would hold, I looked at the statues on either side once again and furrowed my eyebrows.

"Weren't those statues covering their faces before?" I questioned, the hands now lower than before – exposing a pair of expressionless faces. I was sure they'd been covered before…the now common unsettling feeling in my stomach once again returned.

"What? I don't know – I didn't even notice them." Draco stated, as he tried to catch his own breath. Without another word we both turned and made our way from the corridor and hurried back down into the dungeons – only stopping to look over our shoulders once we were back inside the Slytherin Common Room.

"What do they think they're doing?! Keeping that…that thing locked up in a school?!" Draco exclaimed as the door closed behind us and he knew we were safe. "Wait until my Father hears about this."

The remnants of adrenalin were still flowing through my veins and my temple was damp with what I was sure was dog spit.

"Who knows? Or cares? We went to the corridor, we found out that yes, it is banned and for very good reason because you will in fact most likely die a horrible death. Just like Dumbledore said." I replied.

"So are you happy now? We've been, we've seen it and almost died in the process." Draco grumbled before heading in the direction of the boy's dormitories.

"I'm going back to bed and you better hope none of the paintings rat us out." He marched off to his room and I ventured in the opposite direction.

There was nothing unfamiliar about the dimly lit hall leading to my room but for some reason I couldn't shake a feeling of being watched. I slipped inside my room and gently closed the door before yanking off my shoes. I jumped onto my bed, pulling the curtains closed around me and laying under the blankets. Pulling them up under my chin, exhaustion quickly claimed me.


	10. Chapter 10 - Deck the Halls

Chapter 10 – Deck the Halls.

The snow fell early in winter and it was about midway through November when we woke to intricate patterns of ice against our underwater windows and a blanket of glistening white snow covering the courtyard as we made our way to the Great Hall for breakfast. It was a vast selection of fresh porridge, warm buttered toast and every flavour tea imaginable. I had eagerly consumed two bowls of porridge and golden syrup and was marvellously full and warm from the inside out by the time we headed off to our classes for the day. Classes of which were quickly overcome with overexcited, fidgeting eleven-year olds – myself and Mia caught up in that mix. It wasn't like most of us hadn't seen snow before but there was something about it falling whilst we were at school, it seemed to take on a whole new magic of its own. All of us wanted nothing more than to go out into the courtyard and initiate snowball fights with one another and as soon as we were granted that permission we piled out into the bitterly cold air of the main courtyard, teams forming automatically and if it wasn't house vs house it was girls vs boys and the girls more often than not won. It was a rivalry that had very quickly over spilled into the common room. The boys had subsequently tried to play Mia and I at our own game, replacing the pillows on the sofa with ones the exploded. Unfortunately for them, a group of sixth year boys got to the sofa before us and were not happy about the explosion of feathers that surrounded them the moment they sat down.

On the final day of school before the Christmas break was due to begin, the penultimate lesson of the day was potions and even Professor Snape struggled to keep us in any form of concentration, even I didn't care about brewing herbicide potion. Eventually, he dropped his parchment onto his desk in frustration and silently waved us out. No one needed telling twice and we scurried eagerly from the class, taking advantage of the freshly fallen layer of snow and the freedom of no other students to start yet another battle of snowballs. Forts were quickly charmed upwards from the ground and battle lines were drawn as Slytherin stood on one side and Ravenclaw on the other. Very quickly it was clear that we were winning, even if it wasn't necessarily by the fairest means. One unfortunate boy stood up from his defensive wall at precisely the wrong moment and Mia managed to strike his face will a well compacted snowball.

"Yes!" she laughed victoriously before she began charming the snow around her feet to make more weapons in the form of perfectly round snowballs. I briefly looked over our wall to the blonde boy who was now clutching his cheek after getting back to his feet but still smiling underneath a gloved hand. Another snowball briefly scraped his head before he quickly ducked and didn't dare breach the top of the wall again.

As the Christmas holidays approached, students slowly began to pack up their trunks and leave. The castle felt strange being so empty and not having to attend classes. To keep ourselves entertained, Mia and I spent most of our time in the library reading the books we didn't have time for during term, occasionally we simply wandered the halls – never going anywhere in particular and just watching the ghosts carolling around the school.

Unfortunately, we hadn't had the opportunity to get revenge on the boys prior to them leaving for the holidays. We had had little choice but to follow Professor Snape's demands from Halloween and not set off any further pranks in the build-up to everyone leaving. Much to the dismay of Fred and George Weasley who were more than happy to continue to supply the two of us with weapons of mass humiliation. However it wasn't without some amusement, no one else was aware of the ultimatum we'd been handed and so our house mates very much expected a vast array of pranks to come their way and whilst nothing ever did, Mia and I were filled with glee to see our friends constantly be on edge for their perceived impending threat and we were more than happy to imply that we had laid traps for them around the castle. But once they were gone, we were no longer able to do that either and so our time was mainly divided between the library, common room and the great hall where there was a continuous supply of festive foods out at all times. Even on one occasion when I'd woken myself up in the middle of the night and wandered to the great hall, a plate of mince pies and warm milk had been waiting for me. As I'd left the table, I could had sworn I heard a voice but I was so tired I put it down to hearing things and headed back to bed. On the way, however I had come across a very angry Snape marching down one of the halls and my curiosity got the better of me as I silently followed after him, hoping he wouldn't spot me. His cape billowed out behind him and suddenly came to a stop when he turned a corner. I stayed fixed to the floor and listened to what was happening. Snape was muttering a low tone and I dared to briefly poke my head around the corner to see Snape holding Quirrell by the cuffs of his robes, quietly threatening him.

If I hadn't been trying so hard to hear what he was actually saying, I may have spotted Peeves swopping through the air. You never really knew where you stood with Peeves. One day he would help you cause mischief and then make up utter lies to the professors about you on another.

"STUDENT OUT OF BED!" He screeched at the top of his lungs and both professors' faces snapped round to the corner, but I had already turned on my heel and was running as fast as I could back to the Slytherin common room. The entire time I ran I heard Peeve's voice repeating the same warning, but his voice got quieter and quieter and eventually I couldn't hear it anymore once I'd got into the door of our common room.

"Where do you suppose they go?" Mia questioned suddenly one evening whilst we were yet again eating in the great hall.

"Hmm?' I asked with a mouthful of sticky toffee pudding.

"At Christmas, the teachers. Most of them leave Do they go on holiday? They don't live somewhere else, do they? They live here, don't they?" We both paused to watch as Professor Flitwick left the castle with his bags, most of them being bigger than he was, levitating after him. As he stopped to have a quick chat with a remaining student the bags continued of their own accord, knocking him into the back of him and causing the tiny professor to fall onto the snow drift stone in the doorway. Mia and I couldn't help but share a laugh between the two us. It was then that I spotted Snape and had a sudden idea.

"Fancy a bit of mischief?" I questioned and she didn't even need to know the details before agreeing with me. We both got to our feet and sped from the great hall and out in the hall, I searched for the familiar billowing cape of our head of house.

"What are we doing?" Mia questioned.

"Snape is one of the only professors left. He's staying in the castle over Christmas, Merlin knows I've heard him complain about it enough and personally I think that it is only fair that we get revenge on the twins for getting us in trouble with Snape." I began to march forward, but Mia tugged sharply on my sleeve.

"Then let's get McGonagall. She'll expect the twin's way before us." She grinned wickedly and I instantly agreed. We began to seek out the head of Gryffindor house and found her marking the last homework of the year in her classroom.

"Ok, I'll go in and create a diversion and you find some way to prank her." I muttered.

"Ok, if you're ability to lie was ever going to be tested, this is the time." I nodded determinedly and opened the door, marching into the classroom. Professor McGonagall instantly looked up from her task and offered a small, if not sceptical smile.

"Miss Rosier. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas professor," I mumbled, chewing on my bottom lip and beginning to wind the bottom of my jumper around my fingers.

"Is everything okay?" McGonagall questioned as I kept my eyes trained on the ground, homing in on the skills I'd had since a young child. When I looked back up at her, my eyes were full of tears and my bottom was lip was quivering.

"It's just…" I sniffed "…I can't enjoy Christmas because I'm so worried about me failing transfiguration." Of course, I knew I wasn't failing transfiguration – I was one of the best in the class, but my dramatic performances were a force to be reckoned with.

"Excuse me?" McGonagall put her quill down on her desk and leaned forward slightly. I remained rooted to my spot adjacent to the front desk where Mia and I sat in her class.

"I'm failing transfiguration!" I cried, throwing myself into my chair and dropping my head into my arms where she couldn't see me. I shook my shoulders to mimic sobbing and listened as her chair was pushed back and she sat down next to me, her back to the classroom door.

"Miss Rosier…" she began.

"My parents are going to be so ashamed! Alec is so good at transfiguration and I'm failing the whole class. No one knows, not even Mia. Is there anything I can do to boost my grades?" I lifted my head and she actually looked shocked, I knew my cheeks would be flushed, tear stained from my ability to make myself cry at will. I kept my stare trained on her face, seeing Mia flit across the far edge of the classroom and into McGonagall's office. Luckily the door had been opened and the professor didn't notice her at all.

"Miss Rosier." She began and I threw my head back into my arms and began another fresh bought of fake crying. I needed to give Mia as much time as possible to do what she needed to. Of the two of us she was certainly the more capable prankster – I just contributed for the laughs.

"Miss Rosier!" McGonagall spoke again, much more sternly this time as if I was genuinely annoying her. I sniffed again and slowly lifted my head, roughly wiping my eyes and knowingly smearing my mascara under my eyes. She winced at the apparent mess I was presenting myself to be.

"Yes?"

"Where on earth have you got this idea that you are failing my class? Besides Miss Granger, you are easily one of the top students I'm teaching at the moment."

"Really?" I questioned meekly as I saw Mia silently run back across the classroom with her thumbs up.

"Yes." I sniffed again and jumped from my seat.

"Ok, thanks professor. I feel much better now. Have a good Christmas!" I called as I jogged out of the class and into the hall.

"Well?" I questioned Mia as we reconvened in the hall.

"The twins are going to be so sorry they ever got us in trouble." She smiled wickedly and I couldn't wait to see what it was she had set up for them. I had no doubt that it was going to be a sight to behold.


	11. Chapter 11 - Christmas

Chapter 11 – Christmas

Once Christmas Eve finally arrived, Mia and I were one of only a few Slytherin's left and if we were being entirely honest, the solitude was rather pleasant. We had three spare beds in our dorms which quickly became temporary lounging areas for Iris and Jinx and additional space for our school uniforms that had instantly been tossed aside once our final lesson of the year had concluded. Mia and I were both able to have the large sofa right in front of the fireplace to ourselves (the only other Slytherin's who stayed were exam-anxious seventh years) and we'd made it quite comfortable. The furs from our beds had been dragged into the common room to create a territorial blanket fort and only Iris and Jinx were permitted access.

"How come you haven't gone home for the holidays?" I questioned Mia during the evening as she sat sketching on her knees whilst Jinx purred at her feet, providing quite the toe warmer. The fire was roaring underneath the garland that Mia and I had hung our stockings from. Silver and green candles lined the mantelpiece and their gentle flickering light cast shadows against the glistening statuette of the serpent on the wall.

"My parents decided to go on a cruise or something to somewhere hot. My Dad hates winter, he just can't function in the cold. How come you're still here?"

"Alec has gone back with his girlfriend to meet her family; I think they're getting quite serious. My parents wanted me to go home but to be honest, I wanted to see what Hogwarts was like at Christmas. It's a whole different place when there's hardly anyone here Besides, when it's just me at home there's no one to distract the attention from me and when that happens, I basically get interrogated on every little thing I've done so…no thank you."

"It's so much more peaceful being here." Mia replied before looking to the corner of the common room. "The tree looks great, too. It feels so Christmassy…I love it." I nodded in agreement, we had all tumbled out of bed on the 1st December to find the huge Norwegian Spruce scattered with green and silver decorations. It looked rather glamorous with delicately wrapped gifts underneath and intricate ornaments handing from the branches. The rest of the common room had seemingly decorated itself as well, tinsel was draped from the walls and the mantle place whilst garland was wrapped around the concrete pillars that bordered the tall windows. When we had returned from our classes on that same day at the beginning of December; we'd found our dormitories decorated too. Stacks of Christmas cards, mostly generic ones from teachers were sat on our bedside tables and Mia and I had been surprised to see that even Professor Snape has signed a card. It had a hissing serpent on the front with tinsel wrapped around its neck. We quickly suspected that it had been written out of obligation than sincerity and the message inside was very blunt and minimalistic.

_Professor S. _

Though the forced sentiment was sweet enough, it was admittedly one of the odder gifts we'd received. But it was hung with the others none the less across the piece of string fastened along the window of our dorm. The card from my parents had been considerably funnier. My father had decided that as Alec and I weren't going home for Christmas, he would have to replace us in the family Christmas portrait and so the card had my parents sat in our front room, roaring fire behind them. An eagle was sat on my father's shoulder, its wings spread out behind his head and my mother had a snake curled up on her lap, resting its head in her palm. Both were smiling gleefully and even from a distance I could see them trying to conceal their laughter. They were so proud of themselves. It had taken some explaining to Mia but she too appreciated my father's humour and I knew he would be thrilled about that when they eventually met.

"Do you suppose you'll get many gifts?" I asked, breaking the prolonged silence that had fallen between the two of us in the past half hour. Mia was engrossed in her sketch and I had lost myself in one of Mia's muggle books, she had brought a lot of them to school and I had been working my way through them since September. I was currently on War Horse and regretting my decision.

"Well, I have asked for some new sketching parchment and quills. Flourish and Blotts always do a huge Christmas sale so my parents normally get most of my stuff from there. What about you?"

"I always expect at least one weird present from my grandparents, they always send me the weirdest things that come in surprisingly useful."

"Which grandparents?" Mia questioned causing me to look up from the book.

"What do you mean?"

"Is it you Dad's parents or your mums? We have different names for each…set. Dad's Mum and Dad are Granny and Gramps, but Mum's is Gran and Grandad. It saves a surprising amount of time when we're having one of our larger family dinners."

"Oh. Mums. My grandfather on Dad's side of the family died before I was born, and my grandmother doesn't speak to us."

"Why?" Mia questioned and I smiled lightly, recalling the time my Father had explained the same tale to me when I was younger. It had been an incredibly sad story.

"It's a long story. For another time I think." I sighed slightly before looking up at her again. "Do your grandparents know about your magic? Your muggle grandparents of course." Mia smiled.

"Yeah. They didn't to begin with, but then when Bellamy was about to go to Hogwarts, Mum and Dad figured they'd have to explain where he was going. I remember them watching as Bellamy got an apple to peel itself. Honestly, I think everyone was anticipating them to have a heart attack or something."

"And they don't mind, they don't think it makes you different?"

"Well, of course they think it makes us different, but only in good ways. My Granny says she loves listening to the other ladies in her knitting group talk about how proud they are of their grandkids who go to University and she just sits there knowing she had a witch and a wizard for her grandkids."

"Bless her." I smiled. "I love that she has a knitting group – that's adorable."

We spent the evening in quiet contentment, silently enjoying each other's company as we lost ourselves in our own hobbies The few times we spoke it was mostly to suggest yet another trip to the Great Hall for the endless supply of Christmas Food that was continuously refreshing on the tables. Ghosts lined the halls singing carols from the days they had lived and even the remaining teachers seemed in merrier moods. All apart from Snape and Quirrell however and I couldn't help but let myself think back to that night I'd spotted them in the hall. Snape had looked at me on more than one occasion that told me he knew it had been me who had seen them, but I wasn't going to confess to it unless I was presented with indisputable evidence that I couldn't argue with.

Dumbledore, however, was merrier than most, wishing every student he came across a _very merry Christmas _and a _joyful new year. _He always seemed to have a goblet in his hand which led to Mia and me, deciding he had a twenty-four-hour supply of fresh mulled wine at his disposal. I personally preferred eggnog, my parents always put a 'capful' of Brandy in on Christmas Eve to help Alec and I sleep when we were younger. We never believed in a strange man who broke into people's homes and gave them presents, we knew that what our parents had brought us would be far more exciting.

"Wake up, Mia! It's Christmas!" I grinned as I pulled the blankets from my sleeping friend. Ice had formed around the edges of our windows as the lake's surface had frozen over and made for an underwater winter wonderland outside our room. Christmas music was in the air, but I couldn't tell where it was coming from. Iris and Jinx were unhappily awoken from their deep slumbers with a kiss from their respective owners and a modified festive collar around their necks. Neither of them appeared to appreciate their gifts very much but they followed us to the common room none the less, mewling around our ankles.

Before Mia and I delved into the gifts that were under the tree and those we'd received from our families, we exchanged the gifts we had brought for each other. In the run-up to the holidays we had both written to our parents with strict instructions for what they were to purchase on our behalf's. I smiled as I unwrapped the gift I'd received from Mia, exposing a delicate silver quill. A small ink well of liquid gold ink tumbled into my lap as well.

"The quill won't write any other ink than the gold one in the pot." Mia quickly explained, clearly proud of her thoughtful gift. I wasn't very good at keeping any real routine but one thing I did every night without fail was write in my diary. To this day I had accumulated about nine that were held together with a band of ribbon and kept concealed in my room at home.

"And when you write, it vanishes into the parchment and will only appear again if you ask it to."

"How will it know that it's me?" I questioned. Mia thought about it for a moment.

"I think it senses your touch from when you write with it. But it means you'll be able to keep your diary without ever worrying about anyone reading it. It will just look empty to them."

"Thanks, Mia." I smiled as I draped an arm over her shoulder, and we shared a quick hug. I scurried under the tree and pulled out my present to her. My mother had wrapped it before sending it to me, due to my innate dislike of wrapping gifts. I couldn't help but smile expectantly as Mia unwrapped the paper, exposing the green leather notebook with a silver metal serpent embossed on the front and a tiny lock.

"It doesn't have a key." Mia noticed and I couldn't help but smile.

"Oh, but it does. Here." I handed her a ring box that held a tiny silver band that would just fit on her little finger, in the shape of snake. "The ring is charmed, when you hold it near the padlock, it slides of your finger and unlocks the notebook. No other key will fit it; it can't be charmed open or forced. So, you can write down all your evil plans and your hit lists and no one will ever be able to see it. You'll never be able to be incriminated for what you write in that book."

"Awesome. I can plan my world domination in peace." She grinned and I laughed.

"That's exactly what I thought." Once we had got the formalities of thanking one another for our gifts, we began ripping into the paper of the items that our families had brought for us. True to my thoughts, I received a jar from my grandparents - it was sealed shut so I couldn't open it and my eyebrows furrowed as I sloshed the contents around inside.

"What is that?" Mia questioned. I picked up a small piece of parchment and read the barely legible scribble that was my grandmother's handwriting;

_Darling Nina, _

_Your grandfather and I are so proud to hear you have been sorted into Slytherin. You continue on the long line of Selwyn women who find themselves drawn to the water so we thought you should have some with you always. I collected this on the most recent full moon from the sea that separates us. It is a gift that every girl with Selwyn blood has ever received and I hope you find that expands your horizons as it did with them. _

_We look forward to seeing you and your brother soon - we really don't see one another enough anymore. _

_Our pride and love are with you always._

_Reyna & Ignacio_

"It's seawater from the Irish Sea. Collected under a full moon. She says I should carry it with me always." I glanced at Mia.

"I told you, every year I always get something strange but everything up to this point has provided a purpose - I don't see what I'm going to do with a jar of sea water. Mia shrugged her shoulders as she ripped open her present from her own grandparents. An expression of caution was clear on her face as she read a letter that came with it. I remained silent whilst she read the letter but watched closely as she opened a dark glossy box, pulling out a delicate silver chain from which hung an ornate pendant that looked very much like an heirloom. A snake decorated it; its two tiny eyes replaced with glinting green stones.

"It's beautiful." I commented as she passed it to me, requesting that I connect the clasp around her neck. She admired it for a few moments before examining the extensive mess we had made. We didn't need to speak to know that we'd have to start clearing it up. As we both began clearing away the shreds of wrapping paper, tossing them into the fireplace, I came across one last present that had been put at the back of the tree. As I unfolded the label, I saw it was for Mia.

"Mia? You have another gift."

"What? I thought we agreed on just one each." Mia said as she came back over the tree.

"We did. It's not from me." I handed her the gift as I sat in one of the many armchairs, opening my box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans from my Dad. Mia ripped open the paper and opened the box. She pulled out a snow globe, revealing two little figures running around the glass dome, throwing snowballs at one another. They didn't have faces or hair but wore little black school robes and when Mia shook the globe, green and blue glitter filled it and the figures stopped throwing the snowballs and held out their hands as if the glitter were snow and they were trying to catch the flakes in their hands.

"That is one of the cutest things I have seen." I said, Mia just stared at her new gift.

"It's beautiful." She whispered, before placing it gently on the table. As soon as the glitter settled, the two figures started throwing snowballs again and we could actually hear them laughing through the glass.

"I love magic." Mia sighed.


	12. Chapter 12 - Exams

Chapter 12 – Exams

The holidays always passed far too quickly for my liking but at Hogwarts, much to my dismay, they seemed to go even faster. The white snow melted into grey slush and the magic of Christmas went with it. I always hated January; it was my least favourite month of the year. Christmas was gone and everyone was realising that real life and exams were looming just around the corner and my fears were confirmed as soon as the first day of term started. The professors wasted no time in getting us prepared for our summer tests, constantly reminding us that if we failed, we would not be permitted to return to school the following year. That in itself planted a deep-rooted fear in me and I was not prepared to take any chances.

Once spring did arrive, there was little to no opportunity to enjoy the blossoming flowers on the grounds or to waste away warm afternoons, lazily skipping stones at the edge of the Black Lake. No, we were all trapped inside, either in classrooms or the Great Hall, furiously studying. Matters were temporarily made worse by Draco who had developed a new level of smugness over the holidays and insisted on sharing it with every unwilling participant he could find. It had begun the day he'd returned in January and continued well into March before he seemed to finally realise that everyone apart from Crabbe and Goyle had lost interest in his attitude. Apparently, our lack of interest meant he needed to cause trouble elsewhere and that found the form in Harry Potter, Draco's self-proclaimed 'enemy'. He'd snuck out of bed in the middle of the night to try and get Harry and his friends into trouble and credit to him, he succeeded in ratting out the gamekeeper, Hagrid who had somehow acquired a dragon egg and then proceeded to hatch it on school grounds. Apparently, he was intent on raising it as his own and didn't think anyone would notice.

"I like Hagrid and all, but everyone knows you can't tame Dragons, they're classified as 'known wizard killer/ impossible to train or domesticate.'" Mia said with a mouthful of fried eggs, quickly washed down with orange juice as she flicked over the page of her charms book. She'd already read it cover to cover twice but I couldn't convince her that she'd do fine in the exam. As I washed down my own breakfast with a slightly too sweet cup of tea, I arched an eyebrow at the additional two slices of toast wrapped in a napkin that Mia slipped into her satchel.

"What?" She questioned rhetorically, looking up to see my mildly judgemental face. "You're practically forcing me to spend the whole day in the library with you. I need sustenance. All this revision is terribly exhausting." I couldn't help but smile in agreement, taking some toast of my own as we got up from our seats and headed to the library. Revision really had been a necessary and un-relenting evil recently.

Luckily, we managed to sit in our favourite corner of the library. We had discovered it over the Christmas holidays, a window we could distract ourselves with and a high bookcase behind us so no one else could see us procrastinate. As we dropped our bags, and Mia resumed her now-lukewarm toast, I went in search of the book I would need for my charm's exam. I knew if I sat down, I would be unlikely to get up again. As I made my way between the streams of students, some carrying books almost as big as them, I heard the end of a sentence that caught my attention.

"…that explains the troll on Halloween." I froze in my spot and instantly busied myself pretending to look through the books right in front of me whilst I listened intently to the continuing conversation.

"I told you it wouldn't have got in by itself. Trolls are stupid!" The same voice spoke.

"Look, Fluffy isn't hidden on the third-floor corridor for no reason. He's guarding something, Hagrid said so himself." I had moved around the bookcase to confront the mystery individuals before I could stop myself.

"Fluffy?! That thing that tried to kill me is called Fluffy?! Who on earth would look at that hellhound and think that it needs a name like Fluffy?!" The three Gryffindor's looked at me with surprise, shock and annoyance on each of their faces.

"It's rude to listen to other people's conversations." Hermione said, pouting and crossing her arms. She clearly wasn't going to give me the answers I wanted easily.

"Yes. I was raised with exceptionally high standards of etiquette, thank you. I know what constitutes 'rude'. The reason I dropped my normal standards is because, as I have already mentioned, that hellhound tried to kill me." I retorted. "Maybe if you wanted your conversation to remain private, you should speak a little quieter next time." My quick-witted comeback roused a smirk from Ron before Hermione shot him a disapproving look. He suddenly went on to take a keen interest in his shoes whilst I felt rather proud of myself and took a mental note to reiterate the story to both Mia and Alec, the next time I saw them.

"What do you want?" Hermione finally asked, a sigh of annoyance lacing her words.

"I want to know what you're up to. That thing…Fluffy, tried to kill me. I wanted to know why the third-floor corridor was out of bounds and we just stumbled across it. You said it's here because it's guarding something."

"We?" Hermione questioned. I'd hoped she wouldn't pick up on the accidental slip, but I would never be that lucky.

"Someone else saw Fluffy too?" Harry asked. I stayed silent; I knew that telling them Draco had been with me would be the worst choice possible. They would certainly rat him out to McGonagall and he would know they had found out from me. For all his ego, he was not stupid, and I did not need Draco Malfoy making my life any more difficult than it already was, especially with all these exams filling my schedule.

"I took my cat…she's much attached." I lied slowly. They didn't look like they believed me at all but that was all they were going to get. Hermione sighed, sharing a knowing look with the two boys and gestured for me to look at a book she had open, perched on the window ledge. I took a few steps forward and skim read the page.

"The Philosopher's Stone? I've never heard of it?" Hermione sighed again, as if she was rather annoyed before she went on to explain, with precision like detail, what the Philosophers stone was. By the time she was done, she had to inhale quite deeply. I glanced at the two boys.

"Welcome to our world." Ron stated, causing me to almost smirk.

"Ok." I said, "So, just to clarify as _briefly _as I can…Fluffy is guarding the Philosopher's Stone, that is hidden in the depths of the castle and you three think Snape is trying to steal it to bring You-Know-Who back to life?" I kept my voice low as the three Gryffindor's nodded in sync with each other.

"That's insane." I stated, not sure in my own mind whether to believe them or not and no matter how hard I tried to not remember, I couldn't help but think back to that evening over Christmas when I'd heard Snape threatening Quirrell.

"It's the truth!" Harry protested. "Snape cut his leg on Halloween; I saw it myself! Filch was helping him bandage it up in the teachers' lounge."

"When?" I questioned, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Before the troll got into the bathroom." Ron said.

"Rubbish. He was giving Mia and me, detention in his office for letting off pranks."

"Wait that was you two? The exploding cauldrons?" Ron questioned, a grin beginning to form on his freckled face. It disturbed me just how much he looked like his older twin brothers and I had to stop myself from grimacing as I so often did around them.

"Amongst other things, yes. That was us."

"Brilliant." He smiled before remembering himself and returning to a neutral expression of apathy.

"Can we please focus?" Hermione questioned impatiently as though we were all wasting her time with our conversation. "What are we going to do now she knows? She's a Slytherin after all. Can we even trust her?"

"You know, you would never have been put in Hufflepuff Granger. They're far too polite. Don't you think it makes you a bit a hypocrite to pull someone up on their manners when you're clearly not in the best control of yours?" Hermione scowled heavily and I arched my eyebrow, half hoping she would have some kind of comeback, but she didn't.

"What would I gain by telling anyone? I mean, I will certainly tell Mia, but she won't tell anyone."

"What about Malfoy?" Harry questioned, causing all three Gryffindor's to look intently at me as though that thought hadn't occurred to them at all.

"What about him?" I asked, for some reason feeling annoyed that Harry had even brought him up.

"Aren't you friends?" I grimaced slightly.

"What? Just because we're in the same house in the same year? Are you three friends with every first year Gryffindor? Longbottom?" I took a breath and was shocked at where my own outburst had come from, apparently not as shocked as Harry, Ron and Hermione, however.

"Look, I suppose it depends how loosely you use the term _friends_. We have a laugh sometimes, and we're in the same friendship group though thankfully that is a rather large one. But make no mistake, we all took great joy in seeing how scared he was after serving detention in the Forbidden Forest with you guys."

"Yes. Well, we were all scared." Hermione said quietly.

"Why? He never told us what happened. He barely told us anything that happened to be honest."

"I saw Voldemort." Harry said simply. "He's been killing unicorns and drinking their blood." For some reason as soon as Harry said that all I could see was the shock on Mia's face. She loved unicorns, I mean, who didn't? They were pure magic and to kill them was one of the worst things a person could do.

"But he's dead. Voldemort is dead. You killed him eleven years ago." I stated, feeling slightly panicked at the idea that he was not only alive, but so close. Harry shook his head, his unruly black hair falling over his eyes.

"We don't think so. That's what we're saying, with the Philosopher's Stone…he could come back. Completely come back, stronger than ever." I paused for a moment.

"Of course, you'd be safe. With your _pureblood_ and _sacred_ name. But between the three of us, a 'blood-traitor', a muggle born and Harry himself. We'll all be top of the list." Ron exclaimed.

"What?" Harry questioned. I sighed whilst glaring heavily at Ron causing him to avert his gaze. He really was not good at being brave, especially for a Gryffindor.

"Not that it's any of your business. But…my grandfather. He was a death eater during the First Wizarding War. A big supporter of blood supremacy." The three Gryffindor's shuffled, unsure of themselves. Ron obviously already knew everything I was telling them, but it was news to the other two.

"He's dead." I continued. "He died just before I was born. When my Dad got sorted into Ravenclaw instead of Slytherin like the rest of the family, it caused some…tension. Needless, to say we don't speak to them, my grandmother, uncles…none of them. At all. My parents don't support Voldemort in any way and neither do I."

"Ok." Harry stated, as if that was the conclusion to the conversation. I, however, wasn't done yet.

"So, I presume you're not going to leave this whole matter unattended."

"Of course not. We're going down the trapdoor to get the stone ourselves and turn it in to Dumbledore because no one else believes us about Snape so we need to get it before him." Hermione snapped, causing Harry and Ron to stare at her in disbelief. As soon as she had realised what she'd said, her hands shot up to her mouth, as if she could will the words back.

"Marvellous, I think I'll join you." I said without hesitation.

"Um, no." Ron disagreed, tearing his glare away from Hermione and looking back at me. "Why on earth would we agree to let you come with us?"

"Because if you don't…I will tell McGonagall about what you're doing, and Snape that you're trying to incriminate him with absolutely no evidence whatsoever."

"So, what you're actually doing is blackmailing us." Hermione voice but with minimal conviction.

"Persuasion, blackmail…call it what you want." I turned on my heel and began to head back to Mia. My charms book completely gone from my mind.

"I'll see you tonight." It was times like these that I didn't need to question whether I belonged in Slytherin, the evidence spoke for itself.


	13. Chapter 13 - Through the Trapdoor

Chapter 13 – Through the Trapdoor.

It read midnight on my bedside table clock when I made sure my dorm mates were sleeping soundly before I pulled back my blankets. I had gone to bed fully dressed, making sure my duvet was tucked up under my chin, so the other girls didn't notice and start questioning me. True to my word, I had told Mia everything that had occurred in the library and she had been determined to join me on my expulsion-worthy escapades with the three Gryffindor's. I had questioned her on why she was so willing to potentially get expelled in her first year and she had said how jealous it would have made the twins. Of course, I had agreed but as I looked over to her bed, and heard the soft snores coming from under the covers, I decided to let her sleep. I had learnt over the school year that tired Mia was a cranky Mia and that was no fun for anyone involved. I silently tied the laces to my shoes and slipped out of the dorm.

The Slytherin Common Room was expectedly empty so late in the night. Even the fire, normally burning in the grand fireplace, had been reduced to glowing hot embers. There was one ghost sat at a desk, casually flicking through an open book a student had left. She hummed in a low tone and didn't even look up as I cautiously opened the common room door and slipped out into the cold, dimly lit corridor. I couldn't deny it was exceptionally creepy, especially being alone at night. But then again maybe it was because I was now aware of the dangers that lay so close to us within the castle walls. I carried on up the large flight of stairs into the torchlight of the main hall. The staircases were relatively still, and a soft snoring could be heard from the portraits. I slipped into a concealed corner and patiently waited for the other three students to arrive.

"Nina." I eventually heard, though it was no more than a hushed whisper.

"Harry? Is that you? Where are you?" I questioned, watching with astonishment as the three Gryffindor's appeared right in front of me by slipping off a silvery cloak that pooled at their feet.

"You have an invisibility cloak?" I asked, the surprise clear in my voice. To say that invisibility cloaks were rare would be an understatement. "Where did you get it?"

"It's not important." Ron stated quickly before Hermione could answer on their behalf. I arched an eyebrow before quickly returning my expression to normal.

"Come on, get under. It's big enough for all of us." Harry reassured. I hesitantly joined them, and the cloak was pulled over the four of us as we began to navigate the moving staircases once more.

"Honestly, I'm surprised you actually came." I mumbled as we walked the familiar path to the third-floor corridor.

"I didn't want you to come." Hermione muttered quietly and I found myself resisting the urge to stomp on her shiny white shoes.

Hermione used the same charm to unlock the door as I had when Draco and I had been exploring ourselves. I was going to mention how the statues that had been there last time were gone but if the others weren't going to mention it, I certainly wasn't going to. Since Hermione's comment I had expected her to change her mind and leave me out in the halls in the middle of the night to be found by Peeves, or worse, Snape. As the wood swung open on creaky hinges, a blast of warm air caused the cloak to ripple around our ankles. As Ron pulled the door closed behind us, another blast blew the cloak away completely and it landed in a silvery pile on the floor. I once again saw the giant three-headed dog, snoring loudly, fast asleep.

"Snape must have already been here." Hermione stated as I spotted a hard in one corner, the strings moving of their own accord, playing soft music. I still hadn't completely accepted the idea that my head of house was possibly working with Voldemort. But I was well educated of the series of events that led to my grandfather's death during the First Wizarding War. I wasn't going to take a chance on it, if I could prevent the man who meant my family name was now marred from reinstating his crusade of terror, I was going to do it.

"Look." Harry pointed. "Its paw is covering the door, help me move it." I watched as Hermione and Ron quickly followed his request and approached the giant clawed paw, I sighed as I joined them and assisted in dragging it free of the door. Harry leant forward and pulled the trapdoor open as the four of us peered into the darkness below. It seemed like it could go all the way to the middle of the earth. Harry then began listing off a set of instructions as to how we were going to go about our adventure. As I casually listened, not really paying attention, I noticed something that made my mouth go dry.

"Doesn't it seem oddly quiet to you guys?" I questioned as they all turned to me, realising the same thing that I had. The charm that had been placed on the harp had faded and we were now in silence. I then watched in horror as a large drop of thick liquid fell onto Ron's shoulder and rolled down his shirt. I grimaced as he tried to wipe it off, it strings between his fingers.

"Ugh. It's spit!" My heart sank as I felt warm breath tickle the hair on the top of my head. Slowly, I looked up and was met with three sets of sharp, snarling jaws.

"Jump!" Harry shouted and he leapt through the door, disappearing into the darkness below. Hermione quickly followed behind and I shoved myself in front of Ron whilst he was still screaming at Fluffy looming above his head. I harshly took his shirt in my grip and pulled him through after me as the hellhound bit down on the floor, the force making it shake above us dangerously.


	14. Chapter 14-Killer Plants and Flying Keys

Chapter 14 – Killer Plants & Flying Keys

I landed with a soft and yet, still rather painful thud and blinked quickly as my eyes slowly adjusted to the new darkness surrounding me. We couldn't have fallen into the middle of the earth as I was worried we would, we hadn't fallen for anywhere near long enough. The ground beneath me was an odd consistency to say the least but my eyes were too busy trying to identify the other figures in the room to pay it much attention.

"Is everyone ok?" Harry asked. I couldn't see him, but it sounded like he was somewhere behind me. I nodded to myself before realising if I couldn't see him then he wouldn't be able to see me and so I muttered 'yes' before propping myself up on my elbows. It was too dark to see what we'd fallen onto but whatever it was, it was warm and firm and felt almost alive. As I kicked one foot attempting to gain stability only to slip in the process, I thought I felt something move over my ankle.

"What is this stuff?" I asked, trying to see it clearer in the darkness. As I moved my arm, a strong black vine wrapped around my wrist and began to suddenly tighten. I panicked instantly and started yanking on it, only to find it wrapping tighter and tighter, inducing a feeling of pins and needles in my fingers. Vines quickly also began to slide around my neck and pull my head back. My breathing increased as they took hold of my feet and my other arm until I was completely bound.

"What is going on?" I exclaimed as I tried to free my limbs from the tightening vines. Adrenalin was coursing through me and yet I still wasn't strong enough to remove the vines.

"I read about these in Herbology." I heard Hermione explain, her voice sounding strained, "This is Devil's Snare. It's like a Venus Fly Trap, the more the prey struggles, the tighter the vines get and the faster it kills you."

"Oh, marvellous!" I heard Ron exclaim and he sounded like he was fighting fruitlessly against the vines as well.

"Relax! Honestly, it's the only thing that will work." We heard Hermione call from somewhere underneath us.

"Hermione! Where are you?" Harry called and he sounded as panicked as the rest of us. If I hadn't bene so scared, I may have laughed.

"Relax! Trust me!" I stopped struggling and sat as still as I could, my heart still pounding and the blood rushing in my ears. I tried to think of calming things. A good book, a rainy afternoon, jazz music…after a few moments the vines began to loosen. I fell through the bottom and onto a hard, concrete floor – landing hard on my shoulder.

"Ow!" I winced as Hermione rushed over and helped me to my feet. As soon as I was standing again, Harry fell through and quickly got to his feet, rubbing his elbow. Ron remained above us all, yelling louder and louder, the struggle evident in his voice.

"I think he's a bit past the relaxing stage." I said as my mind began searching for a resolution to the problem before the plant constricted the life out of him. Merlin, I wished I wasn't so bad at Herbology.

"I know I read something about how to stop it." Hermione exclaimed, clearly distressed at her own inability to recall the critical information that she needed. Harry and I exchanged a distressed look as I shrugged my shoulders, wincing as pain shot through my left arm. My brain failed to come up with any successful ideas on how to free Ron.

"I've got it!" Hermione suddenly stated. "The poem about it!"

"Poem?" I questioned.

"Professor Sprout taught it to us! Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare…its deadly fun but will sulk in the sun! It hates light." She grinned happily at us.

"Then make some light!" Harry prompted. Hermione's head flipped round the room before making an odd strained squeaking sound.

"There's no windows! It's night-time!"

"Merlin above…" I muttered, retrieving my wand, relived that I was right-handed and pointed upwards.

"Lumos!" I shouted, I'd never tried the spell before so I wasn't sure exactly the technique it required so I decided to go will a full frontal approach and after a few seconds a bright white light erupted from the end of my wand, soaking the snaking vines in an expanse of light. It seemed to scream in pain and the vines quickly loosened and dropped Ron through to the bottom. He fell onto the floor with a heavy thud and quickly scrambled to his feet, brushing off his trousers and feigning calmness.

"Wooh! Good thing we didn't panic!" He exclaimed, looking round each of us as he awkwardly dusted off his clothes. I sighed, ignoring Ron's comment, and headed for a door I had spotted earlier.

"What do you think is through there?" Hermione questioned and I shrugged in response, once again wincing from the pain that was clearly making itself home in my shoulder.

"I don't know. But compared to that thing, how bad can it be?" I pushed on the heavy door and the sound of fluttering wings were heard before they could be seen. The room was small in size but stretched high above us, a vaulted ceiling allowing odd looking birds to fly above our heads.

"What kind of birds are they?" I questioned as Ron headed straight for the door on the other side. He tried to use _Alohamora _but the old lock stayed firmly shut.

"I don't think they're birds. I think they're keys." Harry commented, watching them closely.

"This is going to be impossible!" Hermione expressed in frustration as Harry slowly approached a broom that was floating by itself in the middle of a moon-lit soaked spot of the room.

"There's got to be hundreds of keys up there." I stated as I watched them glint in the moonlight.

"Yeah. But it will need to match the lock, so it needs to be big, rusty and old." Ron said. Harry looked upwards and suddenly pointed.

"There! I see it! It has a broken wing." I looked upwards to the ceiling and spotted the key he was referring to. It flew a little slower than the rest and its wings fluttered with a limp.

"How are you supposed to get it?" I questioned. Harry continued to stare at the broom – it was an old rickety thing. Miles away from his own Nimbus 2000.

"It almost seems too easy." He commented quietly.

"Oh, go on Harry! If Snape can catch a key on that old broomstick you can! You're the youngest seeker in a century!" Ron stated and as much as I hated to admit it, he was right. Harry continued to stare at the broom as if it too would reassure him before he firmly grasped the handle and mounted the broom. He briefly looked up to the ceiling to locate the bewitched key once more before he kicked off from the ground hard and took off above our heads. The three of us on the ground watched as Harry swooped and dived between the ceiling vaults with one arm outstretched. As the key did a quick dip, he followed sharply and eventually managed to grasp it. As soon as he had hold of it, the other keys quickly changed their original course of flight and darted after Harry. He made sharp turns in the air to try and shake them off, but they continued their close pursuit. As Harry flew over my head, he threw the key down and I managed to just catch one of its filmy wings ignoring the persistent pain in my arm. I plucked them from the key to prevent it from flying off again, earning shocked looks from Ron and Hermione.

"It's a key for Merlin's sake! Take it!" I ordered Ron as I ran over to him and Hermione. He took it from me and crammed it into the lock. It took the three of us pushing all our weight against the oak to get the door to move. We each held it open long enough for Harry to swoop through before we slammed it shut again, hearing the high-pitched hammering of the pursuing keys on the other side. We were all panting heavily as Harry dismounted the broom and dropped it as his feet. We were in a square hall with an archway that led through to another room. As we stood at the entrance, we heard the fires lighting themselves, a familiar orange glow casting ominous shadows onto the floor ahead of us. Hermione took a few steps forward before turning back to us.

"Come on. How bad can it be?" My question was quickly answered when an achirid smell filled my nostrils. By the expression on my three companions, they found it as equally disgusting. With my good arm, I pulled my jumper up over my nose and tried to convince myself it made it more bearable. The smell, as awful as it was, was unmistakeable and when I saw the same troll from Halloween unconscious on the floor, memories of that night filled my head again.

We cautiously stepped over its large, wart covered legs, Ron coughing and Hermione wiping her eyes as they streamed with tears no doubt brought on by the stench. Harry reached the door on the other side of the room first and as Ron slipped through behind me and closed the door, we all let out a collective exhale.

"That was the most offensive thing I've ever smelt in my life" I gasped, pushing my jumper away from my nose and smoothing it out.

"At least we didn't have to fight it, again." Harry stated and I had to agree with him whilst hoping that whatever puzzle we were going to be faced with next was going to smell considerably better than the last.

"Look." Ron pointed and in the middle of the room, on a small rectangular table was a number of differently sized bottles of odd shapes. As soon as the four of us reached the table a fire sprang to life in the doorway were we'd just been. Its purple flames roared, igniting a series of other black flames around the room and in front of the door we would need to go through to advance onwards.

"We're trapped." Ron said, stating the obvious.

"What's that?" Hermione asked, pointing to a scroll of parchment on my end of the table, I picked it up and unrolled it, reading it aloud for the others to hear;

"Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind, Two of us will help you, whichever you would find, One among us seven will let you move ahead, Another will transport the drinker back instead, two among our number hold only nettle wine, three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line. Choose, unless you wish to stay here for evermore, to help you in your choice we give you these clues four; First, however shyly the poison tries to hide, you will always find some on nettle wine's left side; Second, different are those who stand at either end, but if you would move onwards, neither is your friend; Third as you see clearly, all are different size, neither dwarf nor giant holds death on their insides; fourth the second left and the second on the right, are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight." I let out a sigh and looked up to the other tree. Ron had a confused yet mildly vacant expression on his face, Harry looked confused and examined the watch on his wrist – clearly conscious of how much time we were using but Hermione was smiling, the biggest I'd ever seen her smile.

"Perfect." She clapped her hands together, turning to the table in front of us. "This isn't magic – it's logic – just a puzzle. A lot of the greatest witches and wizards in history don't have an ounce of logic to them, they'd be stuck in here forever."

"Rude." I muttered to myself, placing the scroll back on the table and examining the bottles myself.

"So how are we going to get out?" Ron questioned.

"Easily. Everything we need is on the paper, right Nina?" I looked up in surprise to see her expectant face.

"Um, yes of course. According to the riddle, there are seven bottles, three are poison and two are wine. One will send us through the black fire ahead of us and another will send us back to through the purple fire into the same room as stinky."

"So…which one do we drink?" Ron questioned.

"Give me a minute." Hermione muttered, examining the bottles closely, picking some up and putting the others down as she pondered the riddle for a while. At last, she clapped her hands together and picked up the smallest bottle.

"This one will get us through the door to the stone."

"Ok." Harry said. "There's not a lot so everyone only drink a little." We each did as we were told and took a small sip, I shuddered as the liquid went down my throat, it was like drinking pure ice. But we all stepped through the black flames and through the door on the other side of the room.

"Just one obstacle left." Hermione stated as we heard the familiar sound of fire's lighting themselves and casting another ominous glow.


	15. Chapter 15 - The Breaking of the Ranks

Chapter 15 – The Breaking of the Ranks

The smirk Hermione's comment had elicited from me quickly vanished as we made our way through the archway and turned the corner, our eyes adjusting to the new room we found ourselves in. One of the first things we all noticed were the shadowy figures lying, scattered and broken around the edges of the room. Hermione wasted no time in voicing her concerns.

"I don't like this." She stated, the nerves in her voice bouncing off the walls. "I don't like this at all."

"What is this?" Harry questioned as I felt a chill wash over me. I stepped in between the fallen statues. After my encounter with the Devil's Snare, I had few doubts that the broken statues would reach out and try to grab me, and I doubted that sunlight would do much against them.

"A graveyard?" I heard myself say. As the four of us advanced forward, the stone floor changed to aged marble squares underfoot.

"No." Ron replied with an assuredness I hadn't heard before. He marched in front of us and turned back, attempting to appear confident but with concern and worry etched onto his face.

"It's a chess board."

"Really? Now we have to play chess?" I complained. The pain in my shoulder was worsening and my whole arm felt hot, contributing significantly to my bad mood.

"Wizard Chess is no game." Ron retorted and I sighed as the effort to argue let me. I knew Wizard Chess, it was a Sunday tradition and as I thought about it, I suddenly wanted to be at home, playing it with my Dad.

"Look, there's the door." Harry said, pointing through spaces between the statues across the board. We joined Ron in the middle and made to slip through the frontline of pawns but just as we got within reaching distance, the stone figures dew out their double armed swords and blocked our path. We froze were we were stood.

"What do we do now?" Hermione asked as we backed away.

"Isn't it obvious…?" Ron began.

"Yes." I stated. "Surely the rules of Chess begin and end at the edge of the board."

"So?"

"So, we go around the outside of the board. Obviously." I stated snidely as I began to pick my way between the stone fragments. I heard the soft steps of Hermione following me. The torches didn't light the edge of the room where we were, and my pulse began to quicken as we got closer to the door. I hoped desperately that this was going to be the last puzzle we would face. As we rounded the corner of the board, Hermione only a few steps behind me, I froze.

"What is it?" Hermione asked. I swallowed as I looked at the two-winged statues holding out an arm each, preventing the door from being opened. Their other arms were covering their faces and I didn't dare go any closer. I couldn't be sure if they were the same ones from before, but I didn't want to find out. I had meant to figure out what they were after I'd seen them with Draco, but it was almost like I'd forgotten all about them until I saw them again.

"They're here too." I muttered.

"What are they?" Hermione asked as I was actually hoping that she would know what they were.

"They were outside Fluffy's door when I came across them. Weren't they there when you were up there?" Hermione shook her head, bushy hair bouncing around her shoulders.

"No. They weren't. They are creepy though. I guess the teachers thought someone might try and cheat the game." I rolled my eyes.

"It's not cheating if there's a loophole." I turned on my heel before she could say anything else and we returned to Harry and Ron in the centre of the room.

"Going around the outside isn't an option." I admitted, annoyance clear in my voice. Ron once again took charge and began directing us;

"Harry, you go over there and take the place of that bishop. Hermione, you can be the castle. Nina…you'll have to be the queen. It looks like our side lost it in the last game and the pieces haven't repaired themselves yet." I couldn't help but smirk.

"Well, if you say so." But the reaction I got from the other three informed me that it was neither the time nor the place.

"Why does she get to be the Queen?" Hermione complained.

"Do you know how to play Wizard's Chess?" Ron questioned impatiently.

"Well. I am familiar with the theory behind it…" Hermione began. Ron looked at me and I couldn't help but shake my head.

"I've played it every Sunday with my Father since I was five." I stated, a little too smugly if I was being entirely honest. Hermione sighed as we all took our places and Ron climbed atop a black horse in place of a giant stone knight.

"What now?" Hermione questioned.

"Well, white goes first. Then it's game on." As soon as Ron spoke his words, a white pawn across the board moved forward two squares and flames rose up out of the edges of the board. Clearly we wouldn't be allowed to leave until the game ended. Ron dictated the play whilst we watched as black and white figures alike were destroyed, their pieces scattering across the board.

"Harry. Move four squares diagonally to the right." Ron gave his first order to the three of us. Hermione and I watched as Harry nervously did as he was instructed, his hands clenched at his sides. Ron's next instructions led to our own knight being stabbed in the chest by the white queen's sword and then being dragged from the board. She left it lying face down at the side.

"Hermione, you can now go and take that bishop." Ron manipulated the game like he had played chess as a career for his whole life. Harry, Hermione and I did as we were told at every point; catching scrapes and cuts when we ended up being stood too close to a fellow black piece as the white queen chipped away at us. Soon enough, there was a handful of us left. Ron did one final examination of the board.

"What is it?" Harry questioned.

"I've got to be taken." Ron replied matter-of-factly and not like he was risking his life at all.

"No!" Hermione shouted in defiance, also realising the danger of Ron's decision. I looked around the board, assessing the damage and cradling my arm, I knew that he was right.

"It will leave you free to checkmate the king Harry. Then we win." I pointed out.

"But…" Harry began.

"Do you want to stop Snape or not?!" Ron demanded from atop his stone horse. He received no answer and so Ron took a deep breath, voiced his instructions and the horse moved. It seemed to take a lifetime as the dark steed approached the Queen, the sound of the stone moving across the marble top filling me increasingly with dread. As soon as Ron was within her reach she struck, hitting him hard around the head with her stone arm and then driving her sword through the chest of his black horse. She dragged them both from the board and Ron was unconscious as she dropped his ankle. Hermione muffled a sob but remained on her square as Harry advanced toward the King. I couldn't bring myself to look at the carnage.

"Checkmate." He turned to the queen and we all watched with silent relief as the sword fell from her hands, clanging heavily on the marble floor. The doors on the other side of the room swung open – the statues that previously guarded them gone. Instinctively, I went towards the open door, intent on advancing towards the end of this adventure that I now regretted having ever agreed to take part in. However I quickly turned on my heel when I spotted Harry and Hermione kneeling over Ron's unconscious form.

"Take care of Ron." Harry instructed the two of us. He and Hermione shared a prolonged look of concern at their friend.

"I'll go find Madam Pomfrey." I said and took a couple of steps backward from the group. Hermione gestured for me to wait but I decided to listen in from a distance, instead of letting my thoughts wander to how much trouble I would be in once Snape found out what I'd been up to. Of course, that all depended on whether he was actually helping Voldemort or not and if he was I had little doubt he would be in a lot more trouble than I. The more I thought about it, the easier I came to the conclusion that it would be better if Snape was practicing some kind of dark magic in secret. Because if he wasn't, he would almost certainly write a letter home to my parents and that was much, much worse for me. Mum would go spare and I would undoubtedly spend the whole summer grounded, probably for longer if she decided to not let me come back to Hogwarts, which was entirely probable at this point. I glanced at my arm again, my hand was still tingling and the pain that I had briefly forgotten about during the drama of the chess game had returned with vigour. In the dim light my skin looked mildly blue and I was getting very concerned.

"How are we supposed to get out of here?" Hermione asked, suddenly right behind me – making me jump.

"Where did Harry go?" I questioned as I turned to her, ignoring her own question.

"He went on…alone." She glanced over her shoulder anxiously. "He'll be fine. I'm sure." I offered a reassuring nod as I looked around the room. There was no way we could go back through the room with the keys and climb back up through the Devil's Snare.

"I have no idea what to do." I admitted eventually. I was physically and emotionally exhausted. Hermione took out her wand and furrowed her eyebrows as if trying to remember something important.

"Dissendium." She cast at the wall in front of us and I watched in astonishment (Hermione in silent, smug accomplishment) as a plain section of brick wall slid away to reveal a pitch-black passageway. We heard torched lighting on the walls and saw the steps ascend upwards back into the castle.

"Do you think he'll be ok for a while whilst we find someone?" Hermione questioned. I nodded, despite having to admit that Ron Weasley was not my focus. I wanted to be swigging back whatever potion Madam Pomfrey was sure to give me for my arm. I marched over to the passageway and made haste, climbing the steps quickly and without much grace. When I began to hear the murmur of paintings, I ran even faster until I finally reached the main entrance to the castle. I felt the cold breeze through the open doors to the courtyard and waited until Hermione was at my side.

"Ok. I'll go find Madam Pomfrey. You find McGonagall and Dumbledore." I instructed as I headed for the Hospital Tower on the first floor. At that point I was not even concerned with coming across Filch or Peeves. If I'd helped prevent the second coming of Voldemort I was in possession of the ultimate 'get out of jail free' card.


	16. Chapter 16 - Rumours

Chapter 16 – Rumours

"You are in so much trouble." I could hear the smirk in Alec's voice as I slipped my robes over my one good shoulder. My other arm was firmly restricted in a sling that kept catching in the stray hairs I hadn't managed to scrape up with my one available hand.

"I expected as much. Who replied?" I questioned as I pulled the curtain away, now being fully dressed.

"Mum." Alec grimaced, an expression I mirrored. I had hoped with everything I had that our Father would have been the one to receive the letter from both Snape (condemning my behaviour) and Alec (doing his best to justify my actions). But no such luck, our father had been away in Romania helping to contain an outbreak of dragon pox. It had been two days since the events under the castle and Harry was still unconscious in the bed opposite to the one, I had occupied. Alec had kept me company for much of the time I'd been confined in the hospital wing. Unfortunately for me, much of that time had been spent listening to him repeating how Ravenclaw had crushed Gryffindor in Quidditch – their worst defeat in 300 years all because Harry wasn't there to play Seeker. It really did emphasise how much the team's success relied on him. Alec was very pleased with himself.

Madam Pomfrey must have heard out chattering's and my own stumbling about (you don't realise how much you need both arms for effective balance) as she quickly slipped out from the curtains that surrounded Harry's bed.

"Ah. Ready to go are we, Miss Rosier?" I nodded, adjusting my arm in its awkward sling.

"She should keep it on for a few more days, just to be on the safe side." Madam Pomfrey instructed to Alec. "I have dealt with plenty of rotator cuff injuries in my time. Though most of them are obtained through more…"

"…legal activity?" I finished. She frowned at me.

"Well, certainly not from fighting plants and playing deadly games of Chess. That much is for sure." I grinned up at Alec who rolled his eyes and guided me toward Madam Pomfrey who was writing a note, she handed me a small clear vile with a cloudy pale liquid in it.

"Bromelain. It's good for pain management. Though you shouldn't need any after today. A couple of drops into your drink should be fine. I expect it back before you leave, and it had better not be empty!" She adjusted the knot on my sling before ushering the two of us out and closing the doors to the hospital wing. Alec's hand clapped onto my good shoulder as we descended into the entrance hall.

"Well, when Mum inevitably starts her rant at least you can say you lived up to her expectations. She was worried you'd get into trouble and you've done just that." Alec's comment did manage to improve my mood slightly.

"Well, you will be in trouble too." I commented causing Alec's eyebrow to arch and him to look down at me.

"Oh?"

"She said to look after me and-"

"Right I'm going to stop your right there. Mum meant to look after you in the occasion that you got bullied or something. How was I supposed to know you would venture into the depths of the castle to fight Voldemort?" I shrugged with a smile on my lips as we joined the other students who were still going about their normal day to day activities. As they spotted Alec and I, they began to gossip behind their hands.

"…yes, that's her…"

"…heard she's the reason Ron got hurt…"

"…hardly normal is it? Not like they're friends…"

"Panda?" I heard Alec ask and it sounded as though he was miles away from me. I turned to look up at him and he suddenly stopped, kneeling down in front of me, only serving to draw attention to us further.

"Don't listen to anything they say." I smiled sweetly.

"I don't. I think it's funny." He furrowed his eyebrows.

"Oh?"

"They weren't whispering so why bother covering their mouths? I can still hear all of them. Maybe they don't want me to see their actual mouths say the words. They must be scared of me. Didn't you hear? I'm the reason Ron got hurt." Alec stood straight and laughed loudly – anyone who was muttering behind their hands had certainly gone quiet now.

"You've got think skin, Panda." He guided me into the Great Hall, and I was surprised to see his friends and my own group sat together in a group at the Slytherin table.

"Nina!" Mia exclaimed, jumping up from her seat and embracing me in a one armed and yet still rib-crushing hug.

"We were going to surprise you in the Common Room, you know, just us. But your brother said his friends wanted to speak to you."

"They do?" I questioned as we both took a seat. Alec sat next to Ember and draped a cool arm over her shoulder, a rose tint rising on her cheeks.

"Talk about making an impact." One of Alec's friends commented. He was about the same height as Alec with dirty blonde hair that was in disarray and mossy green eyes. His tie was loose around his neck with the top button of his shirt undone, mirroring the state of his hair.

"I'm Nic, by the way. Ravenclaw Keeper. If what your brother says is true, then you're going to make an impact on the Quidditch pitch as well."

"She will." Alec said confidently and I couldn't help but smile at him. "Though I do believe that we made quite the impact yesterday, steamrolling Gryffindor. It did feel triumphant."

"Not quite enough to nab the Quidditch cup though was it?" Mia mentioned with a victorious grin.

"Next year we'll have if off you."

"Think again." I stated. "When I'm on the team, you won't stand a chance." My smile quickly vanished as Professor Snape approached our group – a scowl gracing his face as usual.

"It looks like you are out of the hospital wing just in time to see Slytherin win the House Cup, again, Miss Rosier. Fortunately for you, your serious lapse in judgement to break about thirteen school rules in one night appears to not have affected the rankings." He said nothing else before gliding away.

"Merlin…" Mia muttered. "…it must be exhausting having to be so intense all the time." I smiled at my friend as Alex and his got to their feet.

"Best be off. If I don't see you before, I'll meet you by the luggage Kings Cross. Do. Not. Wander. Off. I will not have Mum wanting to kill either of us more than she already does." I shrugged.

"There's still time. Drama can still happen." The girl on Alec's arm giggled.

"Yes, well please try and keep yourself out of it, Nina." I placed my hand mockingly over heart.

"I will do my very best to be a perfect student for the remainder of the term." Alec rolled his eyes and intertwined his fingers with Ember before they both left.

"That's his girlfriend?" Mia questioned and I nodded in response.

"She's pretty isn't she? Ember Fall. She's really nice." Mia nodded in agreement before turning back to me.

"So, as Madam Pomphrey refused to let anyone other than Alec see you, all we have heard is rumours and some of them are ludicrous!"

"I can imagine. I heard two Hufflepuff girls whisper that I was the reason Ron got hurt."

"Were you?" Blaise asked quietly. He was not someone who often spoke in our group, but his presence was always felt and his persevering silence often appeared to unnerve the other students.

"No. Though I respect that you think I'm capable of that. He fell maybe a foot, foot and half? The queen hit him pretty hard to be honest. He was still unconscious when Madam Pomfrey, Snape and I got down there and found Harry too." Mia leant forward on her elbows as our group shuffled closer to one another. Draco looked a little squashed between Crabbe and Goyle and if it hadn't of made my shoulder hurt, I might have laughed.

"So…tell us everything." Mia prompted.


	17. Chapter 17- The House Cup

Chapter 17 – The House Cup

I sat squashed between my housemates in the loud and excited atmosphere of the Great Hall; occasionally itching my hairline where the heavy pointed black hat sat on my head. It was a terribly uncomfortable accessory and despite the letter at the beginning of the year telling us it was for daily wear – I was happy to see that rule was seldom enforced. My left arm was still in a sling, the weight of it pulling on my neck and irritating me further. Mia had been nice enough to pull my hair into a ponytail so at least that wasn't a problem anymore. Madam Pomfrey had been right and the pain had subsided mostly by now but if I was being honest, I rather enjoyed the attention my injuries got me. Crabbe and Goyle were forced to carry my bags everywhere and despite my potion not being perfect in our final exam – Snape passed down a near perfect mark nonetheless.

The Great Hall was draped in the green and silver of Slytherin house, and despite Draco's blunders throughout the year trying to get Harry & Co in trouble, we had managed to accumulate enough points to win the House Cup. I didn't dislike the three Gryffindor's that sat across from me on another table bur I couldn't deny that I was enjoying their dismayed and disappointed expressions. Ron and Harry both had butterfly stitched on their cheeks and Harry had his knuckles wrapped in bandages. Hermione had managed to escape relatively unscathed, just a couple of scratches that had healed already. I hadn't had much chance to speak to any of them as Dumbledore had insisted on speaking to me the moment, I was awake, taking his time to explain the details of what had occurred that night. When I'd passed the conversation onto Mia, informing her that Professor Quirrell had been harbouring Lord Voldemort on the back of his head, she hadn't been too shocked.

"_You know, I never said anything…but I felt like there was something off about him the whole year. I just couldn't put my finger on it." _It was then that she also remembered how Fred and George had got in trouble for throwing snowballs at the back of Quirrell's head which we now knew to be Voldemort's face. We spent at least fifteen minutes laughing at our realisation.

I was pulled out of my daydream and back into the present as a twinge of pain went through my shoulder. I removed the small vile from my robe pocket and added a drop to my orange juice before drinking it quickly.

"How's your arm?" Mia questioned, noticing what I was doing.

"It's ok. Hopefully I'll be able to take my sling off tomorrow morning. I'll have to take the vile back to Madam Pomfrey too." I examined the dribble of liquid that remained in the glass vial and remembered her warning about not returning it empty.

"I still can't believe you willingly went with them, nearly got yourself killed _and _didn't wake me up so I could come too." I shrugged with one shoulder and smirked.

"What can I say? I'm a trouble magnet…and you looked so peaceful sleeping." I teased. Mia grinned and rolled her eyes as Dumbledore stood at the top table and raised his hands in order to get everyone's attention. The hall rapidly quietened as he began his end of year speech. Pansy leaned across the table to Mia and I as Dumbledore announced that Gryffindor had ranked bottom in terms of points, something I couldn't help but feel smug about.

"I can't believe we won." Millicent nodded in agreement.

"Especially after Malfoy's detention in the Forest." The four of us sniggered between us, earning a snide look from Draco as he sat slightly up the table from us.

"I can't either." I confessed. "But we've earned it. Our hard work and following the rules has clearly paid off." I nodded in the direction of the four pillars behind the teachers table, filled with the gems of each house. The green emeralds of Slytherin glistened higher than each of the others. It was then that I noticed everyone else applauding Ravenclaw fell into second place. I glanced over to the table and smiled to Alec who raised a goblet in response.

"…and in first place, with four hundred and seventy-two points, Slytherin House." Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff both applauded, most likely out of politeness that sincerity but it didn't matter. We were applauding ourselves in our own little bubble of success. Gryffindor however made a point of staying silent.

"If you didn't break school rules all year long, you might have stood a chance." Sally-Anne noted in a singsong voice. My friends and I were ready to tuck into the feast that was already laid out in front of us before Dumbledore held up a hand again and the hall fell silent once more.

"Recent events must be considered in the count and cannot be disregarded," I exchanged mildly confused looks with my friends.

"He must mean what happened with Quirrell." Mia suggested and we all nodded in agreement, once again calm that we could continue to win the house cup. I would be given points for my contribution and there was no way Harry, Ron and Hermione could fill the deficit. There was over 110 point's difference between us.

"To Miss, Nina Rosier." I looked to the headmaster expectantly. "For accepting that sometimes you just have to play by the rules and cannot outwit everyone. I award Slytherin House, five points." There was a small rippled of applause across the hall.

"That felt very…" Mia began.

"Backhanded?" I suggested and she nodded in agreement.

"To Miss Hermione Granger…for the use of cool logic in the face of danger, I award Gryffindor House…fifty points." Mia's jaw dropped along with my own as Hermione's points were awarded to her. Dumbledore then went on to award Ron another fifty and Harry received sixty.

"We are still ahead." Draco muttered.

"So we still win?" Mia muttered quietly in response. We were beginning to get odd looks from the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw table and Dumbledore wasn't done yet.

"There are all kinds of courage. It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Mr Neville Longbottom." The Gryffindor table erupted into applause as Hufflepuff comforted one another at now being dropped to the bottom of the table. The diamonds in their pillar fell out of the bottom and onto the stone floor before disintegrating into dust whilst the Rubies in Gryffindor's rose to above ours.

"I believe, a change of decoration is in order." Dumbledore announced.

"What?!" Mia and Pansy exclaimed in unison as the banners above her heads rippled and change from green and silver to red and gold.

"Gryffindor win the House Cup!" Dumbledore declared and Gryffindor cheered one another. We however, along with the rest of Slytherin sat in firm of silence. Our house had won the cup for years and years. The seventh years at the far end of the table looked extremely disappointed and annoyed to have lost out by such close margins. I found my brother once again at Ravenclaw table and he offered me a confused expression as well.

"I don't get it." Millicent remarked as she pulled the pointed hat from her head. "You got five points. Potter got sixty! Sixty points for _love!_ Longbottom got ten points for finding his backbone! How do you get less than _him?_"

"This is such rubbish." Pansy agreed.

"You'd have been better off not bothering to help them at all and just telling Snape." Sally-Anne finished as she bit into a roast potato, her hat also scrunched in her grip.

"Yes well. There certainly won't be a next time. At least when we take credit for someone else's achievements we admit that's what we're doing." Mia sighed heavily as Draco, Crabbe and Goyle each followed suit of us girls and pulled off their own hats, scrunching the fabric in their grips. Blaise offered me a small smile from next to Pansy and I returned the kind gesture. As they each turned away and slowly began to each once Gryffindor had quietened down, I felt disappointment in my chest. We had been so close to winning and it had been snatched away at the last moment. I found myself glaring heavily at the three first years as they paid no attention to anyone outside of their group. I'd tried to help them, and it had backfired in my face for the whole school to see. It was humiliating and to make it even worse, my appetite had fade away to nothing. I pushed my plate away and added a few more drops of my potion to my drink before dropping the empty vile on the floor.

Ten months ago, I couldn't wait to get to Hogwarts. Now, despite the impending wrath of my parents, I wanted nothing more than to go home.


	18. Chapter 18 - Back to London

Chapter 18 – Back to London

The morning of our departure was a sombre one to say the least. We knew that we would see one another over the six weeks before we would return to Hogwarts in September. But that knowledge did little to lighten our moods. Mia and I had packed exceptionally slowly on our final morning, sadly swapping items of each other's that we had borrowed over the past school year.

My arm was now completely out of its sling and I had faced Madam Pomphrey's disapproving expression when I'd returned the bromelain empty, but I hadn't cared. The bitterness of us missing out on the House Cup was still with all of us. We'd even seen a seventh year Slytherin boy crying over the narrow defeat and it had made me somewhat of a target. It seemed that many of my housemates agreed with Sally-Anne's statement, that I should have just told Snape what they were doing and initially I had thought that maybe I had made the wrong decision but then what if Harry, Ron and Hermione hadn't caught Quirrell? Could Voldemort have been back already? It didn't bear thinking about and after a tearful conversation with Mia, she believed I'd done the right thing and that was enough. I simply decided I would play it more carefully next time.

Breakfast was eaten in relative silence as we listened to our trunks being piled onto a carriage and wheeled down to the Hogwarts express. Iris and Jinx had been slipped into their cat carriers whilst they slept, and they were being packed with the other pets as well. I half hoped that she would cause a scene once we arrived in Kings Cross and that it would distract my parents from being as angry at me as their letters had said they were. I never dealt well with the anticipation of being yelled at, it gave me a horrible swirling feeling in my stomach that meant even as I looked at my breakfast of blueberry pancakes, I didn't dare take one bite for fear of it coming straight back up to greet me again.

"I'm not hungry either." Mia commented as she tentatively sipped some iced water. The summer was going to be hot and the breeze coming through the open doors was a warm one and yet we were all told we had to stay in our school uniforms until we were on the train.

The only good thing that had happened since our humiliating defeat at the hands of Gryffindor, was that our exam results had been handed out. Well, they'd actually been read aloud in front the whole class in each lesson. Mia and I have meticulously made a list the night before to keep track of our grades and decide whether we would be welcomed back at for our second year. I had been nervous, as McGonagall has started reading out our grades on that Thursday morning, but after hearing that even Crabbe and Goyle had managed to pass, I was confident and by the end of the day, I was rather smug about my handmade grade card;

_Astronomy: O _

_Potions: O_

_Defence Against the Dark Arts: O_

_Charms: O_

_History of Magic: E_

_Herbology: A_

_Transfiguration: E_

_Flying: O_

Mia and I had compared our grades and had almost gotten identical marks. The only differences were that Mia got an 'O' in Transfiguration and a 'D' in Flying but that was to be expected because she disliked it so much. Because she had conveniently placed it at the bottom of her card, she folded over the bottom edge and it simply looked as though she had never taken the subject to begin with. Something she was very happy to accept.

Given that my plan with Iris was due to fail, my good grades meant I had a new plan on how to avoid my parent's wrath as much as I could. I knew Alec had failed his History of Magic final and though mine had been the most boring thing I've ever done – I knew that my mother would have to be proud that I managed to pass. Maybe if I added some fake tears for added dramatic effect and sobbed about how I'd been so wronged by the three Gryffindor's, she might even start to feel sorry. All I knew was that my acting skills were truly going to be put to the test.

#

The sun was beating down on us as we made our way from the school and to the train. The shores of the black lake had become a cooling and familiar sight over the past year as we got into our small boats, each of us now feeling slightly bigger than before, and sailed back towards the treeline that kept Hogsmeade train station concealed from view. It felt strange, to turn back and see the castle shrinking behind us. It felt almost like I was leaving a part of myself behind in our dorm.

Sally-Anne, Millie, Pansy, Mia and I all found ourselves a compartment once we were aboard the train and slid the door closed to keep any unwanted additional people from thinking they could join us. The five of us had grown rather close over the past school year and as the train pulled away from the station, we all retrieved our diaries from our bags and began correlating schedules of when we would see one another over the holidays.

"My family do a picnic the second week in August." Pansy said and so that was scribbled in. Mia was going to stay with me for a week during which the other three girls would also come a stay for a weekend, my mind was running wild with all the ways the five of us could annoy Alec.

"My parents do an end of summer celebration. So of course, you're all invited. We have fireworks and ice cream and mum lets us swim in the lake."

"Sounds awesome." Mia said as she scribbled the event into her diary. Once we were all done, we finalised our dates to make sure we all knew what we were doing, stuffed our diaries into our bags and then got comfy as we settled into the journey. Mia and I played game after game of exploding snap until we had to wait for the cards to rebuild themselves after their spontaneous explosions. At this point we pulled out our books from our bags and finished the last few chapters, as I snapped the cover of _Wuthering Heights _closed, I handed it back to Mia and made her promise to bring more books with her for the next school year. She agreed only if I promised to pilfer some from my father's library.

"You can choose some yourself when you come and stay." I commented.

"Aren't you worried your parents will ground you?" She questioned, earning the attention of the other girls in the compartment.

"I suppose a little, but I've got better grades than Alec and if they're still angry, I'll just cry. That always works. Plus, I'm hoping that they've missed me too much to be angry, but I suppose we'll see when we get back to London."

For the remainder of the train journey I watched the countryside roll by, the hills of Scotland gave way to the industrial hilly landscape of the north of England and it was then that the trolley Witch came by with homemade sandwiches for everyone's lunch. It was like a mini Hogwarts feast and I had decided that other than Quidditch, that was the thing I would miss the most about school. It was like the kitchens could read your mind, if you mentioned that you fancied Jam Roly Poly one morning it was almost guaranteed to be there for desert in the evening, despite growing up around magic – I still found it impressive.

Eventually, as the suns glow just started to fade from bright yellow to a honey-ish gold, the Hogwarts Express pulled into Kings Cross station. Parents were lining the platform eager to see their children and despite the threat of punishment for my antics I couldn't' wait to lay eyes on my parents. I wondered if my mother had convinced my father into shaving off his beard. Had she cut her hair? Or changed her lipstick? I doubted either were likely, but I wanted to find out regardless.

There was a different smell in London. The fresh mountainous air of Hogwarts was memory now and the hotter, city air had returned and strangely, was still just as comforting as I remembered. Mia and I clutched each other's hands as we began the search for our parents. It wasn't long before I heard Mia's voice being called from a woman who was waving her arm, a blue floral handbag handing from it.

"Mama!" Mia cried, instantly letting go of my hand and rushing to her mother's open arms. Her father knelt down and they shared a very long hug – it was clear they had missed each other horribly over the year.

I was suddenly lifted from my feet and spun round to face my father who had tears in his own eyes. I instantly wrapped my arms around his neck, feeling the familiar scratch of his beard on my temple the smell of his cologne. As he placed me back onto my feet my mother instantly pulled me into her arms. Her blonde hair was still short and neatly tucked behind her ears, just as I remembered it. She suddenly took hold of my arms and pushed me back so she could look into my eyes.

"What did I say?" she hissed but not in the angry tone that I had anticipated. It was then that I realised that she had never been angry at me, just scared that I had done something so dangerous without thinking.

"I'm sorry." I muttered and I genuinely meant it. I suddenly felt guilty that I'd made her feel that way. She shook her head and pulled me back into another hug. It was then that I heard Alec arrived and she suddenly shot to her feet, slapping him on the arm.

"I told you to look after her!" Alec rubbed his arm.

"She's a nightmare! You don't even know half the trouble she has got into. She needs a tracer on her to keep her out of trouble. I'd get work to put one on her." My mother tutted before pulling Alec into a hug too.

"The house has been so quiet; I've missed you both so much."

"We both have." My father smiled as we all stood together, a family amongst hundreds of others that had all been reunited. "I think ice cream for dinner sounds perfect as a celebration for having you both back."

"Agreed." I suddenly realised my missed breakfast and refused lunch had taken a toll on my appetite. I was starving. I turned behind me to see Mia, she waved happily as her family began to leave the platform.

"See you in a few weeks!" she shouted over the noise of the crowd.

"Bye!" I called back before I was swept away to a meal of mint chocolate chip ice cream with my family.

Summer was going to be great.


End file.
